


Silencer AU

by JessTheEspeon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, it's mature because i swear, tags will be updated as i go maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:46:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 52,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25214884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessTheEspeon/pseuds/JessTheEspeon
Summary: What if Marinette found a... different... way to deakumatize Luka? Canon divergence starting from Silencer!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, endgame luka couffaine/marinette dupain-cheng | ladybug - Relationship
Comments: 28
Kudos: 159





	1. Silencer

This wasn’t her first plan for taking down Silencer. Not by a long shot. But…

She wasn’t complaining.

Marinette hadn’t been able to find a good place to transform since some of the staff had grabbed her and pulled her into a back room to wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to appear. In the meantime, Silencer had dragged a full confession out of Bob Roth and was now waiting for Paris’ superheroes to turn up so he could fulfill his end of Hawkmoth’s bargain. Marinette needed to get out, and fast.

One of the cameramen had pulled out his cell and was streaming the live news report of Chat Noir. Everyone was wondering where Ladybug was. Her Chaton was holding off Silencer (for now) but she didn’t want to know what would happen if he got his voice taken away and couldn’t escape.

A thought struck her. “Hey, why don’t we all go help Chat Noir? It’ll give Ladybug more time to get here.”

“Are you insane, kid?”

“What’s the worst he can do? Take away our voices? All we need to do is distract him long enough for Ladybug to arrive.”

“The kid’s got a point…”

It took a few more minutes of convincing, but eventually she got them all riled up and ready to fight. The entire crew stampeded out of the closet and grabbed camera stands, chairs, a whole assortment of improvised weapons to defend their city. None of them cared about Bob Roth, he’d always been horrible, but they’d be damned if Silencer hurt either of their heroes.

Marinette held back a little while, hoping they’d leave her in the commotion. Just as the last member of the film crew left, who crashed through the side of the building but Silencer and Chat Noir.

There was a moment of silence as all three took in the situation.

_ I need to get out of here and transform. _

_ I need to protect Marinette from Silencer. _

_ I need to protect Marinette from Chat Noir. _

Marinette moved a fraction of a second before the other two, turning towards the door to the roof.

“Marinette!” 

“Oh, so now you want to protect her?” Silencer tackled Chat Noir to the ground and launched himself after Marinette. “Where were you when she needed you, huh? I’m the only protector she needs now!” 

“Run Marinette!” 

And she watched as Chat Noir’s voice turned into a little jellyfish and vanished inside Silencer’s helmet.

Her feet were pounding down linoleum tiles, twisting and turning through the massive building as she tried to find somewhere to hide. 

“Marinette, you’re safe now! I’m not going to hurt you! Stop running!” Silencer yelled behind her with XY’s voice. 

He was gaining on her fast. Too fast. She had maybe two seconds to get around a corner and hope he didn’t see her. She turned.

Dead end.

Her heart was pounding as she slid down the wall. This was it. This was how she died. She’d lose her voice, not be able to transform, and Luka would be stuck as Silencer forever. Paris would be doomed to an eternity of quiet.

Unless… 

Silencer turned the corner and she tackled him in a hug. He cradled her against his chest. 

“It’s ok. You’re safe now.” 

She looked up at him. This was her one and only shot at getting rid of the akuma right now, and she had no clue if it would work. 

“You saved me.”

“Of course, Marinette. I won’t let anything hurt you. Ever.” 

“Lu-- Silencer. Can you… take off your helmet for a second? I… I want to give you something.” 

Hawkmoth’s mask appeared over Silencer’s face for a moment and she worried it wouldn’t work.

“Marinette would never hurt me. I trust her.” 

Silencer took the helmet off slowly and blinked at her. Without the helmet, he couldn’t speak either.

She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. 

Now or never. I’m sorry, Luka.

She pulled his face down for a gentle kiss.

Somewhere, in the back of Luka’s mind, a pinprick of warmth appeared. It grew stronger and stronger until everything was burning, burning away the purple fog that clouded his thoughts and told him to act out on his unhealthy desires. The akuma… I was akumatized. Did I hurt anyone? Did I hurt--

“Marinette!” 

Luka broke away from the kiss with a shout, looking around in bewilderment. In front of him was a very red Marinette. She was holding his face, looking just as surprised as he did. 

“Did I… Did I hurt you?” 

It worked. It actually worked. Just like when she kissed Chat Noir to break Dark Cupid’s hold on him, she was able to dispel Luka’s akuma. She stared over his shoulder where the akuma was fluttering about until she finally snapped back into Ladybug mode. 

“You didn’t hurt me, but we need to get out of here. You go find Chat Noir, I’ll try to contact Ladybug. We’ll talk after, ok?” 

She smiled the smile she normally reserved for Adrien Agreste and Luka could feel his heart melt. 

“Y-yeah… ok. Be safe, Marinette.” 

“You too.” 

They both took off in opposite directions. Once Marinette couldn’t hear Luka’s footsteps anymore, she doubled back and transformed. With the akuma purified, she went to go find her partner. He was waiting on the roof with Luka.

“Where’s Marinette?” Both boys yelled.She really did feel wanted in that moment. 

“She’s fine. I told her to get somewhere safe until I purified the akuma. Are you two alright? That looked pretty rough.” 

“All good here, milady.” Chat Noir gave her a cheeky smile. “I held my own against him.”

She laughed. “Of course you did. What about you, Luka?” 

He looked a little more contrite than her partner. “I don’t really remember what happened, but I’m ok now. You’re sure Marinette’s ok?” He looked up at her with fear in his eyes.

“She’s fine, I promise.” Ladybug reassured him before going in for a ‘pound it!’ with Chat Noir. 

“Thanks for covering for me today kitty. Bug out!” She swung off over the Paris sky, just far enough to drop into an alley and run back into the building to find Luka.

“Over here! Luka!” She jumped and waved her hands, trying to be seen through the crowd of people returning inside. He caught sight of her and ran over, crushing her in a hug.

She laughed and hugged him back. “I’m so so so so so sorry Marinette, I didn’t mean to get akumatized, I promi--”

“Shush, you did it to protect me from Bob Roth. And you got a live confession from him, so that’s pretty great!” 

“I did?”

“Yeah!” She pulled out her phone as the rest of Kitty Section caught up to them. Everyone agreed it was damning evidence and that neither of those two would be working in the music industry for a long time. Almost every company that had partnered with XY was blowing up Kitty Section’s social media asking for a collaboration. They’d have to talk about it as a band much later, but for now they were just happy to be back in one piece.

~A few days later~

Marinette still hadn’t talked to Luka about their kiss. She wasn’t even sure he remembered it, the way he jolted back as the detransformation washed over him. She would’ve been offended if he didn’t immediately check that she was ok. Tikki told her that she’d have to talk with him about it someday, and soon. It wasn’t right to keep it a secret from him.

So she’d decided to tell him today. She’d asked if he wouldn’t mind her coming over early before Kitty Section’s practice, and he’d said it was fine. Rose and Juleka were going to be out on a double date with Mylene and Ivan, so they’d probably have an hour or two to talk about whatever was on her mind.

Marinette wished her classmates a good rest of their day and started walking to the Liberty.

Adrien watched her go with an almost pained expression. He shouldn’t have felt that way. She’d clearly kissed him to get rid of the akuma, right? She never even saw Chat Noir round the corner. He’d jumped back almost immediately, watching the akuma leave Silencer’s helmet seemingly of its own volition. Why did it hurt so much to see her kissing someone else? They weren’t dating. She was just a friend. Sure, he’d thought that that valentine may have been hers, but there was no way! This was confirmation of it.

“Adrikins, wanna walk me home today?”

“Oh, uh… sure Chloe.” He glanced up at her and tried to smile. She was too absorbed in talking about herself to notice it was fake.

Luka held out a hand for Marinette as she stepped onto the Liberty. “What did you want to talk about?”

Please don’t let it be Adrien, please don’t let it-

“Silencer.”

Oh. Oh… “What, uh… what about Silencer?” His memories of that day were still fuzzy. Hopefully he didn’t say anything rude to her.

“You might wanna sit down for this.”

That was never good.

“Is everything okay Marinette? Did I say something while I was akumatized?”

“No! No, nothing like that. It was actually something I did.” Her face was bright red and she wouldn’t look him in the eye. When Luka didn’t say anything, she continued. “I don’t know how much you remember, but I feel bad keeping this to myself either way. I didn’t mean to, I just didn’t know what else to do, you see? I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, but Chat Noir was in danger and Ladybug still hadn’t shown up and--”

“Marinette, breathe.” He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Whatever it was, I’m sure you did what you had to.”

“So you don’t remember?” She looked up at him. He could feel her starting to shake under his hands.

“No, I don’t remember anything. When I came back, I was standing in front of you.” He’d thought a lot about that memory, actually. He’d pulled back, opened his eyes, and she was standing in front of him with her hands on his face. He had a guess as to what happened, but he couldn’t remember for sure. To be honest, he was afraid he’d forced a kiss on her and she was going to tell him she didn’t feel that way about him. That’s why he didn’t expect what she said next.

“I… I kissed you. Just to break your akumatization!” Marinette could feel Tikki glaring at her from inside her purse. “I would never kiss you without your permission, I mean!” She bit her tongue before she could say anything else.

“Oh thank god, I thought I kissed you while I was akumatized. Like, forced you to kiss me.” Luka’s cheeks were a soft pink. “Thank you, Marinette. You saved me. I see why everyone calls you their everyday Ladybug.” He teased, bumping shoulders with her. 

“You’re… you’re not mad?” She glanced up at him.

“Of course not. You saved me from hurting anyone else. Why would I be mad?” He hadn’t missed that little bit about kissing him without permission, but he was waiting to see if she’d caught it.

“Well, I just thought, maybe…” She looked down at her shoes. “...nevermind.” 

Luka stood up as he heard footsteps on the boat. Everyone must’ve gotten done with their date early. He had one last thing he needed to say. “Just so you know, Marinette…” He leaned down to whisper in her ear. 

“You always have my permission.”


	2. Now we start diverging (more)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering this entire thing is already finished and up on my tumblr @jesspeonwrites, I'm working on posting it to ao3 right now so if you're so starved for content go read the posts, otherwise I'll be posting this all right now, gimme like a half hour and it'll be all up

To say that Marinette was stunned would’ve been the understatement of the century. She could handle akumas, she could handle Lila, she’d handled Chloe for years. But Luka Couffaine had just turned her into an incoherent puddle of goo, staring at his back as he walked up on deck to greet the rest of the band.

“Marinette?” Tikki had only ever seen her react like this to Adrien. It was good for her chosen to finally be getting him out of her head, especially after some of the things Plagg had told her, but she didn’t want Marinette to start hyperventilating.

“Tikki, am I dreaming?”

“No, Marinette. You’re wide awake.” 

Adrien had walked Chloe home in complete silence. Not that he could’ve gotten a word in anyways, what with Chloe talking about this and that and how they really should hang out more.

“...But that’s for another day. Bye Adrikins!” She leaned in and kissed his cheek before going into the hotel. Adrien loitered outside for a little while before walking. To where, he wasn’t sure. He just knew he needed to think, and he always thought better when he was outside.

“What’s on your mind, lover-boy?” Plagg asked from inside his collar.

“Are Marinette and Luka dating?”

“Ooh, jealous~?” Plagg snickered.

“No! Marinette’s a good friend, is all. I want to make sure she’s with someone who’ll take care of her.” A flimsy justification, but that was all he could come up with right now that wasn’t ‘I don’t want her to date Luka and I can’t figure out why.’

Plagg saw right through it, but had the good sense not to prod him further. Well, not much further anyway. “Is that why we’re walking right towards the Liberty?”

Adrien hadn’t realized he’d been following the sound of Kitty Section’s rehearsal until he was already there. He could lie and tell his father that he was going to spend the day with Chloe, but not saying anything might benefit him more. When they were younger, he’d always walk Chloe home and then spend the evening there.

Luka was starting to get worried. Marinette hadn’t come out of the hull for almost 20 minutes. 

What if he’d said the wrong thing and scared her off? 

He took a cleansing breath and tried to keep up with everyone else while they played, but it was no use. His notes kept coming off weird and Kitty Section could tell something was up. 

“Alright Luka, what’s on your mind?” Rose put down the microphone and put her hands on her hips, a cheeky smile on her face that said she knew exactly what was going on.

“Yeah, you’ve been staring at the door ever since we started practicing. Is someone down there?” Juleka raised her eyebrow in challenge and started to move towards the door. 

“No! Don’t go in there!” Luka was in front of the door in half a second, blocking everyone on deck.

Juleka wasn’t having it. “Who are you hiding down there? Is it… Marinette!” She yelled the last word, making Luka flinch as Marinette responded.

“Coming!” 

Luka gave her a death glare before moving out of the way as the door opened.

“You don’t have to hide downstairs, you know. You’re always welcome at practice.” Ivan smirked.

“Yeah, you’re our fifth member!” Rose chimed in.

Marinette recovered quickly. “I wasn’t sure if you guys wanted an audience tonight, and I asked Luka and he said it was alright, but I wasn’t sure, so I was going to wait downstairs until he gave me the all-clear!” Her words came out way too fast, but no one said anything. They just shared a private little smile and nodded.

Of course Marinette would be on the Liberty. They were practically a second family to her. Adrien ducked around a corner, heart racing. He hoped no one had seen him. Sure, if he asked, they would let him come hang out. They were all friends, there was no reason to think that anyone would suspect anything. And he had a legitimate reason for not wanting to be in the house, everyone knew that! 

But what if Luka had told them about Marinette? They would want to keep all the other guys away, right? Ivan didn’t count, he was already in a relationship with Mylene. 

“Kid, you need to calm down!” Plagg flew up in front of his face and whapped him on the forehead with his little paw. “I don’t even know what you’re freaking out about, but if you keep going like this you’re going to smell like my camembert! And I can’t eat you.” 

“Sorry Plagg, I’m just worried! What if they don’t want me to hang out with them?”

“Then you leave? I don’t see the big deal here.” Plagg flew back into his collar as Adrien stepped out onto the sidewalk again. He put on his sunniest smile and lifted a hand to wave. 

“Hey! Mind if I come aboard?” 

Luka’s head snapped away from his guitar as a familiar voice called out from the shore. Crap. Had Marinette texted him to come rescue her, or was fate just playing some cruel joke on him? Marinette looked just as surprised, so she probably hadn’t invited him. That was good, at least…

Luka let out a sigh before putting on his own grin and waving him on board.

“You all sounded really good! Hey Marinette.” Adrien gave her a little wave.

“Did your dad let you out today?” Mylene asked. She’d been sitting quietly in the captain’s room, where the noise was a bit more muffled. She loved their music, but sometimes the noise overwhelmed her.

“Yes and no. I just walked Chloe home and thought I would stop by when I heard you playing.” So it was just a trick of fate. Wonderful.

“Well come on up, your keyboard’s right over there.” Luka gestured with his pick. That way he could keep him from sitting with Marinette.

“Sure thing!” Adrien smiled at him and went over without any complaint. In the back of his head, he was thinking the same thing as Luka. 

He’s trying to keep me away from Marinette.

The jam session ended a few hours later and everyone piled into the downstairs for snacks and refreshments. 

“That was really good. You bring a whole new vibe to Kitty Section, Adrien.” Rose grinned up at him.

Adrien flushed a little. “You think so?”

“Definitely man, it was awesome!” Ivan clapped him on the back, nearly toppling him over. 

Marinette was having a meltdown. Not even twenty minutes after Luka dropped that bombshell on her and Adrien Agreste walked onto the boat. She thought she would evaporate on the spot. The energy on stage had been crazy, and she hadn’t missed the looks Luka and Adrien were throwing each other. It was like the two of them had plotted this all out ahead of time just to make her sweat. 

“Hey, while we’re all down here, we should talk about the partnerships we got offered.” Juleka suggested, holding up her phone.

“Good idea. And Adrien can help us figure out what’s a good deal and what isn’t!”

“Yeah, great idea!”

“Sounds good to me.”

Adrien gave a nervous grin. “I mean, my father takes care of most of that stuff for me, so I don’t--” 

“Nonsense, you still have way more experience than the rest of us combined.” 

And so, Kitty Section and Co dragged everyone into the biggest room inside the boat and got situated in a big circle. Marinette just so happened to be sitting between Adrien and Luka.

“So, we all agreed that we’re definitely partnering with Jagged Stone first, right?”

“Right!” Everyone else rang out. Adrien didn’t miss that Luka and Marinette grinned at each other. They both liked Jagged Stone, he remembered. He was a fan, sure, but not on the level they were. He’d have to remember that.

“But what about after that? Jagged’s label says they’d love to have us, but if we can get someone better, then…”

“True, but Marinette knows Jagged personally. He wouldn’t screw us over.” 

“Well, what do you guys think?” 

Everyone was holding out a different phone with a different contract that had been emailed to Kitty Section. Adrien and Marinette looked them over quietly.

“It’s true, I do know Jagged, but there’s this one clause that I’m not quite sure about.” Marinette turned the phone around to the rest of the group. “It might just be the wording, but I’d like to talk it over with Penny first.” 

Marinette took a screenshot and texted it to Penny.

“The rest of them seem pretty much the same. It’s more about brand building versus quick cash at this point.”

“Well, hang on. This contract says you’d have to play whatever they tell you to. You might not get to write your own material any more.” Adrien flipped a different phone around and pointed it out.

“Can we negotiate it with them?”

“Oh, we’re definitely going to.” Everyone perked up at hearing such a strong tone from Juleka. “I’m not letting them turn us into some trashy pop-band.”

“Marinette and I could draft up a contract for you guys. Marinette has plenty of experience with commissions, and I could probably get my father to look over it.” Adrien grinned over at her.

“That sounds like a good idea!”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.

Rose raised her hand up. “Everyone in favor, say I!”

“I!” It was unanimous. As much as Luka wanted to say no, that they could handle it on their own, he knew the rest of Kitty Section wouldn’t go with him. Better to save face, even if it meant Marinette would be spending time with the ‘sunshine child.’

“Then it’s settled. When are you free, Marinette?” 

She was busy reading a reply from Penny saying she would clear up the contract and send it again. “Hang on…. Mhmm…. Ok, Penny’s going to re-send the contract with updated wording. What’s going on?” She looked around the circle.

“Are you okay with creating a contract for us to send to everyone? Adrien said you two could work on it together!” Rose gave her a thumbs up and a not-so-subtle wink.

“O-oh!” She stuttered, looking between Adrien and the rest of the group. “Just, ah, just send us all of your non-negotiables and we can totally draft something up!” Her grin was nothing short of terrified. Writing a contract would take time, and that meant spending a while with Adrien, but what about Luka? She felt someone’s hand slip into hers.

“Thanks Marinette, it means a lot.” Luka gave her palm a squeeze and looked at the clock. “It’s getting late. Want me to walk you home?”

Oh no he doesn’t!

“I can take her! We’re both headed that way anyways.” Adrien shouldered his bag and stood up. 

“We’ll come too!” Mylene and Ivan stood up.

Luka was sorely outnumbered, so he just gave Marinette’s hand another squeeze. “Sure, sounds great. Have a good night, everyone. Marinette.” He gave her a soft smile and waved everyone off the boat. Rose was going to be sleeping over with Juleka tonight. They’d rented a movie and had the popcorn started by the time Luka came back downstairs.

“Well that was a disaster.” Juleka looked over at him.

“Don’t mention it.” He sighed, walking into his room and flopping onto his bed. This was going to be harder than he thought. Just when he was making progress, too!

Most of the walk home was Ivan and Marinette discussing Kitty Section’s goals for the future and what they wanted out of the contract. Mylene and Adrien carried out a little bit of conversation, but they’d never really talked much before. Adrien could see them becoming friends, though.

Marinette was the first stop on everyone’s route home. She bid them all goodnight and promised to get a draft started right away that she’d share with Adrien later tonight.

And then there were three.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At some point I remember realizing tumblr doesn't like rich text so I swapped from italics to capitalization, whether i come back and fix it is largely up for debate rn

Marinette practically  _ flew _ up to her room after everyone else had left. Her last drops of adrenaline carried her all the way to the top of her loft stairs before she felt the crash. She was completely and utterly drained. 

She’d been so anxious for the last 4-5 hours that it was a miracle she’d been able to get home without incident. The contract would have to wait a little longer. She sent an apologetic text to Adrien and crawled under the covers, wishing Tikki a good night before completely passing out. Her dreams were incoherent clashes of yellow, green, blue and black, and she woke up feeling worse than when she’d went to bed. At least it was Saturday.

Marinette headed downstairs for breakfast to two very smiley parents. “Have anything to tell us, pumpernickle?” Her dad grinned, setting a fresh croissant on her plate.

“...No?” Marinette tilted her head, confused. 

“Really? Nothing at all?”

“Nothing. I’m drafting a contract for Kitty Section, I guess, but that’s it.” 

Sabine looked up at that. “Really? How exciting. That nice Luka boy is in Kitty Section, right?”

“Maman!” 

“Oh, so you do have something to tell us!” Tom grinned down at his daughter, popping a chocolate croissant in his mouth.

“No, absolutely not! I’m going to go work on the contract, actually.” Marinette grabbed a strawberry and retreated back to her room.

“What are you going to do about them, Marinette?” Tikki asked. Her chosen stopped cold in the middle of the room.

“I don’t know Tikki! I really like Luka, but then there’s Adrien, but they’re both so sweet, I just don’t know!” 

Tikki sighed. Adrien showing up yesterday hadn’t accomplished anything except frazzling Marinette’s already frayed nerves. She just wanted her to be happy! Luka had basically thrown the ball into Marinette’s court when he told her she had permission to kiss him whenever she wanted, and he was such a gentleman! He was willing to let Marinette go just so she’d be happy, and that was the kind of person she wanted for her chosen. Someone who respected and loved her enough to accept a no at face value and still be happy just as her friend. Sure, Adrien was Marinette’s long-time crush, but he’d proven himself less than ideal as Chat Noir. Plagg had told her all about what happened during Syren. She could understand his desire to be in the loop about Master Fu, but it wasn’t anyone’s choice except the Master’s. And to go as far as to threaten Plagg… That cat had a lot of work to do if he ever wanted her approval to date Marinette. Tikki shook her head and flew over to her desk, watching her make a first draft of the contract. She’d kept meticulous notes about everything Ivan had said about Kitty Section.

They sat in silence for a while, both wondering about what to do.

Meanwhile, Luka was still sulking in his room and trying to figure out how to get back in Marinette’s good graces. He just didn’t know how to compete with fashion model extraordinaire and long-time crush Adrien “Sunshine” Agreste. Marinette loved fashion! Adrien was the face of a fashion empire! If they got together, she’d be set for life. He couldn’t offer that. All he had was his music and a room in his mom’s boat. 

“Are you going to stay in there all day?” Juleka leaned against the frame and stared at him until he mustered the strength to answer.

“What do I do, Jules? I can’t just say Hey, ditch Adrien Agreste, the boy who could set up your fashion empire with a flick of his wrist and a few billion dollars, and come date me! I live in my mom’s boat and play guitar!” He threw his hands up tiredly. “She deserves someone who can take care of her.” 

“Wow, you’re hopeless. Adrien has a crush on Ladybug.”

Luka’s eyes shot to her immediately. “How do you know that??”

Juleka looked out the window noncommittally. “I hear things.” 

Sometimes it was good being unnoticed. It was easier to ‘accidentally’ eavesdrop on people.

“Does Marinette know?”

“Doubt it. And even if she did, it’s not like she’d stop trying to win him over. He’s called her ‘just a friend’ so many times already, and that’s never put her off. She’s stubborn.” Juleka shrugged and walked out, leaving a bewildered Luka behind.

He had a chance. And all he had to go was get past Marinette’s stubbornness! ...Oh.

Adrien read over the document with growing excitement. It was ingenious! Of course, it wasn’t quite written with contract terminology, but that’s where he came in. It took around 3 hours and a collection of old contracts he had stashed in a filing cabinet, but by the end of it their first draft was looking incredible. He sent both back to Marinette and then forwarded them to Kitty Section for review. 

His cell pinged about three minutes later from a new group chat.

‘Do we all wanna meet up to go over it? That way you two can explain all the legal jargon to us. This is Luka, btw.’

Marinette read the message and flushed. Of course they’d all want to meet up again. But that meant having to deal with Adrien and Luka at the same time, and she didn’t know how much her poor heart could take.

‘Could we meet up tomorrow? I have a fencing meet today.’ Adrien beat her to the punch. She was about to make up some excuse about feeling sick. Which, technically, wasn’t an excuse, but still wasn’t as concrete as a sports tournament. She let out a breath and planted her forehead on her cool desk.

“Tikki, is it too early to go on a patrol?”

“You can patrol whenever you want, Marinette.” Tikki looked up from Marinette’s phone with some curiosity. She’d thought her chosen would want to get some sleep, not go run around as Ladybug.

“Tikki, transform me.” 

A few blocks away, Adrien had the same idea. “You lied about having a fencing tournament so you could go run around as Chat Noir? I will never understand you, kid.”

“You don’t have to. Now, Plagg, transform me!” Adrien had planned to go hang out at Marinette’s balcony, but stopped short when he saw his lady running around the rooftops. Usually she didn’t come out when it wasn’t her turn for patrol. He wouldn’t complain. Besides, Adrien could use some advice.

“Bonjour milady! What brings you out this lovely morning?” He asked, falling into step beside her. He immediately noticed the circles under her eyes. “Everything ok?”

“Fine, just didn’t sleep well last night. What about you?” She looked over at him with a sleepy smile.

“Needed to get outside, clear my head.”

“Why? Is everything alright with  _ you _ , Chat?” She slowed to a stop, immediately worried.

He shrugged, looking up at the clouds. “Just girl trouble. You know, all these fine ladies can’t get enough of me!” He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. 

“Seriously Chaton, is there something wrong?”

“Hmmm… there’s one thing. It’s just a friend, though. Nothing I can’t solve myself. You, however, look like you’ve got more than a bad night’s sleep going on. Tell me your woes, oh Ladybug. Your noble Chat Noir is always ready to lend an ear.” He leaned on his staff, giving Ladybug full attention.

Now it was Marinette’s turn to stare at the sky. She knew Chat Noir wouldn’t take any of what she was about to say well, but she needed to tell someone. And better to tell someone that wasn’t involved, right?

“There’s these two guys.”

“Competition, milady?” He straightened up.

She rolled her eyes before continuing. “And I’m very conflicted about them. I like them both, but I can’t just pick one. I’m afraid if I wait too long, though, that I’m going to miss out on both of them.”

“Well, I think you should pick me, of course. Whoever my competition is, there’s no way he’s a superhero too.”

“...Sure.” Of course he would assume one of her crushes was him, what did she expect? At least she finally had it off her chest. They spent another hour patrolling the city before Marinette decided she had tired herself out enough to get a decent night’s sleep. She big Chat Noir a good rest of his day and took off for home. It was nap time.

Adrien found himself at the Liberty for the second time in two days and he began to wonder if this wasn’t a little unhealthy. He told himself he was just on patrol, and the Liberty  _ was _ a part of Paris, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have an excuse to be here. He lingered for a minute or two, trying to catch sight of Luka, but when that didn’t prove fruitful he decided to do what he’d been planning all along and go to Marinette’s house. But there was no response on the trap door.

He knocked a little louder and heard a muffled groan before seeing a sleepy Marinette on the other side of the window.

“What do you want Chat Noir? Is there an akuma?” She looked behind him, confused. Sure, he’d visited before, but usually there was a reason.

“No akuma Princess, just a bored Chat. Do you want me to come back later? Sorry if I woke you.”

She yawned before replying. “Nah, it’s fine. What’s up?”

Marinette already knew what was up, but she wondered if he’d be more forthcoming with her than with Ladybug.

“What, can’t I come hang out with my Purrincess?” He crooned, grinning as she got up onto the balcony with him.

“Yeah, but usually you want to talk about something.” She stretched out on the beach chair she’d brought up there one day and glanced over at him, waiting for an answer.

He put a hand on his chin and leaned against the railing.

“...Well. There’s this girl.”

“Ladybug?”

“No, not my one true love. A friend. And this might sound a little weird, but I think she has a crush on someone. And… I want to make sure he’s right for her. She’s very important to me.”

Well this was news. Chat Noir didn’t usually tell her about his friends. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time she’d heard him mention friends at all.

“...But I don’t want to make it seem like I’m being overprotective or trying to scare the other guy off. I don’t want her to think I’m trying to get rid of him so I can date her, you know? I just want to look out for her.”

“Sounds like a real dilemma. Have you thought about asking her how she feels about him? Or just hanging out with the other person, to get a feel for who he is?” 

“Yeah, but we’re not really friends. And I think he might not like me.” 

“Why’s that?”

“I think he sees me as competition? Or he knows I don’t trust him yet? I dunno.” Chat’s shoulders slumped. 

“I just want to make sure she gets the best of the best, you know?”

“Chat Noir, it sounds like you have a crush on her.”

He whipped around and held his hands up at that. “No! Never, she’s just a friend!”

“That’s not what it sounds like. How close are you and this friend?”

“...Close enough that I want to make sure she’s not going to end up in a bad relationship.”

“That’s vague.”

“Alright, we’re not as close as I’d like to be! We’re friends, but she gets really shy around me! I don’t know why, either! She doesn’t act like that with anyone else…”

“Chat Noir. Is it possible this girl has a crush on  **you** ?”

And how he was sputtering. Watching Chat Noir get this worked up over someone who wasn’t Ladybug was honestly refreshing, and she wasn’t going to let him live it down as Marinette. Ladybug would have to feign ignorance, but she was free to tease him as much as she wanted right now.

Adrien couldn’t form anything coherent, he was so stunned. Marinette? A crush on Adrien? That was ridiculous! There was no way. It was obvious that she had a crush on Luka. Honestly, he was pretty sure he made Marinette nervous. She was into fashion and he was the son of Gabriel Agreste. One word from him and he could destroy her career. He would never do anything like that, but how was Marinette supposed to know? 

“I’m gonna go. I have… some stuff to think about.”

Marinette watched as he left, swinging from roof to roof with his baton. The last thing Adrien heard from her direction was the sound of a closing trap door.

Plagg was cackling inside the camembert cabinet within seconds of detransforming.

“She can’t have a crush on me Plagg! There’s no way! Marinette’s my friend!” 

“Well there’s one way to find out! You should flirt with her tomorrow!”

“Plagg, no. I’m not going to lead her on. My heart is set on Ladybug, you know that.”

“Ladybug, Ladybug, Ladybug, yeah yeah, but she’s turned you down how many times now?”

“Whatever, it’s just because she doesn’t want either of us getting hurt. If Hawkmoth knew we were in a relationship he’d try to leverage us against each other. She’s so smart.” Adrien sighed dreamily.

“Oh yeah, and speaking of Ladybug, you have another problem! She’s into another guy! Maybe two!” Plagg cackled. 

Crud, he’d almost forgotten about that in all the Marinette drama. “I’m not worried. Who could possibly beat Chat Noir? I’m the total package!” He grinned. Plagg had to restrain himself from throttling the kid. One day Adrien would understand the importance of rejection. One day. Even if Plagg had to sit him down himself and give him the talk, he would understand the meaning of the word ‘no.’ Plagg just hoped Adrien would have it figured out before that was necessary.

Saturday came and went as all three kids slept, stressed, and plotted what would happen when they all met up to discuss the contract. Luka assumed Adrien and Marinette would have to sit next to each other to present the contract, so his best bet was just being on the other side of Marinette. An easy feat, since the rest of Kitty Section knew about his crush. 

Adrien came up with the opposite idea. He’d have to make sure he was between Marinette and Luka to figure out what was going on. It would let him get closer to Luka and he could measure if they were constantly talking around him.

Marinette, however, was trying to figure out how she could stay as far away from both of them as possible. She had a rough idea in mind, but there was almost no way it would work. She’d have to split everyone into two discussion groups and that Luka was in Adrien’s. 

“It’s hopeless, Tikki! I can’t handle them both at once! I can barely handle Luka!” She groaned.

“You can always tell them you can’t make it today.” Tikki chirped from somewhere around her room. The kwami was looking for something, but she wouldn’t tell Marinette what.

“No way, that’s not fair to Kitty Section. I promised I’d go over the contract with them.”

“Found it!”

“Are you finally going to tell me what ‘it’ is?”

Tikki flew down and dangled a small object in front of her. “It’s a good luck charm! I know you already have the kwagatama, but I wanted to make you something you could take with you everywhere!” 

It was make out of beads and fabric scraps from all of Marinette’s projects every since she’d become Ladybug. She could match every piece to something she’d designed.

“Tikki, it’s… it’s beautiful!” Marinette’s eyes welled up with tears and she wished Tikki were big enough for her to squish in a full hug, but pressing the little kwami to her cheek would have to do for now. She made a mental note to make a batch of Tikki’s favorite treats tonight after she got back from the meeting. Marinette clipped the charm onto her purse and opened it for Tikki, then headed out. After drying her eyes, of course.

The Liberty was in full swing by the time she got there. Adrien was chatting up Luka about music stuff while everyone else was going over the contract one last time before they actually got serious about it. Juleka was the first to spot her and gave a quiet wave, for which she was grateful.

It didn’t stay quiet for long. 

“Marinette!” Luka’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and Adrien was quick to follow.

“Hey Marinette!”

She gave them both a smile and a wave and then turned to the rest of Kitty Section. “Is everyone good to go over the contract, or do we all want a few minutes?” 

Ivan looked around for a second, then answered. “I think we’re all good.”

So they all went back downstairs. 

Show time.

“Adrien and Marinette up front so you guys can show us everything!” Ivan practically shoved them both into place. Luka tried to sit next to Marinette, but Ivan plunked himself down immediately. Luka ended up dead center across from her, which meant while they were presenting he had complete ogling privilege.

The two spent about an hour going over the contract and outlining all the legal rules and regulations and how they’d dealt with certain loopholes that they thought would come up. All in all, it was pretty airtight. Mr. Agreste had seemed almost impressed when Adrien presented it to him for a seal of approval. Nathalie had also looked it over. Just to be safe, everyone agreed to pass it to an actual lawyer before sending it out. After that first session they took a break so everyone could come up with the changes they wanted in private. Making some things more specific, adding a new clause or deleting something else. 

Marinette reminded everyone that the stricter it started, the better. 

“The way it works, is if you overprice yourself and someone talks you down a few bucks, there’s a better chance that you’ll still be making more than your absolute lowest amount. Same with this contract. You’ll keep more of your own rights if you demand them all up front.”

That took about a half hour, and then Marinette and Adrien started editing the contract on the fly as people explained their changes to the rest of the group.

And that… took another 4 hours and a few fights. Nothing serious, of course! Just some arguments about how strongly they should word some of their terms. And by the time that was done, everyone was starving. 

“Who wants to order takeout?” Rose yelled.

“Me!”

“From where?”

“Does everyone have money?”

“I can cover it. My treat! For letting me hang out.” Adrien shot Marinette a grin and watched with satisfaction as her cheeks turned a bright red.

“You don’t have to.” Juleka piped up.

“It’s fine, my father won’t miss the money and I rarely get to eat out anyways. What does everyone want?”

They settled on a local pizzeria and ordered two larges with assorted toppings to accommodate everyone.

When Luka and Adrien went up to get the pizzas, all eyes were on Marinette.

“...what?” She flushed, seeing the way they were all intently focused on her. 

“My bet’s still on Adrien.”

“No way! She’s totally got it out for Luka.”

“You know who would know for sure? Alya!”

“WHAT????” Marinette squeaked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually so excited for toxic Adrien stans to come hate-bomb this without reading it, because I do redeem him  
> Just cause Adrien's abused doesn't mean he can abuse Marinette, but him abusing Mari doesn't mean he no longer deserves help :P

Not Alya, anyone but Alya! Marinette was in no way, shape, or form ready to deal with the wrath of her best friend. It was one thing to not tell Alya about her love life, but to tell Kitty Section  _ instead _ of her? She’d be dragged off the boat by her pigtails. 

“Don’t call Alya!”

“Why?” The remaining members of Kitty Section turned to stare at her with piercing grins.

“Be-Because she doesn’t know yet!” 

“What do you mean ‘she doesn’t know yet’?” Juleka raised an eyebrow. In the back of her head, Marinette wondered when she’d learned how to be that intimidating. This was beyond the regular ‘ooh scary goth kid’ and further into the territory of ‘I can destroy you with a single phone call and you’d better give me a reason not to.’

“Yeah, she definitely knows about both your crushes. It’s kinda obvious.” Ivan smirked. 

Marinette looked towards the door before speaking quickly and quietly to shut them all up once and for all. “She’s going to say Adrien for sure but I don’t know any more!” 

Amazingly, that shut them all up. Rose slipped her phone back into her pocket with wide eyes. “A love triangle, how romantic!!”

“A love triangle?” Luka and Adrien repeated as they walked down the steps into the hull. Marinette could’ve killed Rose with the look she gave her, but Rose was very quick at recovering.

“It’s a new soap opera I’m watching! The main character is caught in a love triangle and I can’t wait to see who she picks!” 

“It’s surprisingly entertaining. Rose got me into it a few months ago.”

Adrien was a bit more interested than Marinette would’ve liked. “What’s it called?” 

“Oh, you wouldn’t like it. It’s really mushy. Mylene tried to get me to watch it with her but I couldn’t handle more than two minutes.” Ivan for the rescue. She’d have to thank him later. 

While all this was going down, Luka inconspicuously took a seat next to Marinette and grabbed them both a slice of pizza.

“You alright? You seemed a little off today Ma-Ma-Marinette.” He whispered, trying not to interrupt the other conversation.

“Fine! Totally fine! Nothing wrong here!” Marinette hastily took a bite of pizza to stop herself from exploding on the spot.

Luka sighed and gave her a fond smile. “Alright, but you can talk to me if you need to. I’m here for you.” He took a bite of his own pizza and tuned back into the fake soap opera conversation.

“Why won’t you tell me what it is?” Adrien laugh-whined. 

“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” Ivan stood up and grabbed his shoulder gently. “Trust me.” 

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll just find it myself.” He turned around to sit down only to find that Luka had taken his spot. 

_ I should’ve been keeping a better eye on him. Now Marinette doesn’t have a buffer!  _

He plastered on a model-smile and sat down on Luka’s left. 

_ Checkmate blondie. You’re not going to hog Marinette’s attention all night. She’s a free woman! _

Once Marinette managed to swallow her slice of pizza, she posited a question to the group (the silence was getting to her). “So, what’s everyone’s favorite label so far? Besides Jagged.”

“Clara’s label was really cool! Their contract looked super cute!” Rose answered. 

“I dunno, I was thinking of the Bob Roth’s group. Not, not his group! Everyone that was under him and reformed it after he got kicked out.” Ivan held his hands up defensively. 

“What about you two?” The Couffaine siblings were deep in thought.

Luka spoke up first. “I guess I never really thought about it past Jagged. I kinda assumed he’d take us on right away.” He shrugged, reaching for another slice. “If I had to pick, I’d probably go with Clara’s label, too. She seems like she enjoys working for them.”

“Something about Clara rubs me the wrong way.” Everyone turned to Juleka in surprise. She took a moment before explaining herself. “She’s almost… too happy, y’know? I feel like she’s hiding some dark secret behind all the fun colors and rhyming. It just feels fake. Adrien, you were her original Chat Noir, what do you think of her?”

Everyone’s head turned. “She’s really sweet, I guess? I didn’t see anything wrong with her. Marinette? You were almost her Ladybug, and she really seemed to like you.”

“Well… I really only did it so Chloe wouldn’t end up as Ladybug. I don’t think Ladybug would’ve wanted to be represented like that. Chloe’s… she’s a decent actress, I guess, she grew up with you and all, but she’s definitely more of a Queen Bee than a Ladybug.” 

Rose, Juleka, and Ivan all looked away at that. They knew what Marinette had suffered through under Chloe’s reign of terror. This year was better, but it didn’t erase the damage. 

“Yeah, I can understand. She’s trying, though.” Adrien smiled. He knew Chloe wasn’t always the best person, but he could see her making little improvements every now and then. “But Clara clearly thought you’d make an excellent Ladybug, so that’s gotta say something. We all already know you’re our everyday Ladybug.” Adrien reached over Luka and put a hand on her knee. “You’re special, Marinette, everyone can see that.” 

Everyone in the room except Adrien turned bright red. Luka looked like he’d just been stabbed in the gut. Juleka was hiding behind her hair. Ivan was resolutely staring at the ceiling boards, and Rose was hiding behind her hands. 

Marinette was staring at Adrien’s hand like it was about to burn a hole through her leg. 

Lucky for the entire group, Ms. Couffaine chose that moment to come downstairs and tell everyone that she was about to move to a different port further upstream. Couldn’t have ol’ Roger coming down with some new excuse for a ticket like ‘loitering’ or whatever. 

“I guess we should get going then, Marinette wanna walk with me and Rose?” Ivan bumped his head on the ceiling in his rush to get out of there and nearly dragged Rose and Marinette for a block before letting go of their arms. 

“OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH MARINETTE!!!” Rose shrieked, bounding up and down excitedly. Marinette looked paler than anyone had ever seen her before.

They all turned when they heard footsteps chasing after them. It was Luka and Adrien, holding a familiar looking-

“Marinette, slow down! You left your purse on the boat!” Luka bent over, laughing while he tried to catch his breath.

“Jeez you guys run fast. My mom said you didn’t have to leave if you didn’t want to.”

“Oh, no we’re good, thanks!” Marinette took her purse with shaky hands and started walking without waiting for another answer.

Rose chased after her with a quick, “Bye boys!” and a light giggle. She’d already whipped her phone out and sent a  _ very _ long message to the girls’ group chat (Titled: ‘Marinette’s boy-trouble death squad’).

Marinette kept walking for a few more blocks before she just slumped against a wall. “Rose, what am I gonna do?? I can’t keep up like this!” She focused in on Rose, her pupils small enough that they were near-invisible. “He told me I have permission to kiss him whenever I like! He told me I was clear as a music note, sincere as a melody, but then Adrien pulls something like that, and I just don’t know any more!” 

Rose sat down next to her and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug. “It’s okay Marinette! You don’t have to pick either of them. You have time. If you want my advice, go on one date with Luka and another with Adrien. Maybe that will help clear things up.” 

Both girls’ phones were blowing up, but Rose left them all hanging in favor of comforting their everyday Ladybug. 

“That sneaky little- Plagg, he took my spot! And I didn’t even notice! I couldn’t protect Marinette!” 

“What are you protecting her from again?”

“Luka! He’s all over her!”

“They literally just talked. You’re overreacting kid. Where’s my camembert, by the way? I deserve a reward for sitting through that mess. You guys talking legal is sooooooo boring!” Plagg zoomed around Adrien’s room looking for whichever new spot Adrien had hidden the camembert stash in.

“I am not! Did you see how nervous she was?”

“You mean how nervous she gets whenever you’re around?” Plagg zoomed right up in Adrien’s face. “Whatever she feels for Luka seems like exactly what she feels for you, and if she’s afraid of both of you then you’re definitely not helping. If she has a crush on both of you, you’re  _ still  _ probably not helping!” 

Adrien huffed and threw his hands over his face. “I am not having this conversation again Plagg, she’s just a friend!” 

“To you!” 

“What does that even mean?”

“You not having a crush on someone doesn’t mean they can’t have a crush on you. I thought you would’ve figured that out, what with the whole Ladybug situation!” 

“That’s different!”

“How? You have a crush on Ladybug, she doesn’t have a crush on you. I see absolutely no difference!”

“Yeah, sure Plagg.” Adrien rolled his eyes.

By the time Marinette got home (with a great deal of help from Rose), all the girls were piled inside her room and listening intently to Juleka as she caught everyone up to speed. The room went eerily silent as Marinette came in.

“Girl, you look terrible. Come sit down, and tell us everything.” Alya went up to take Marinette from Rose and lead her to the chaise. “Mrs. Cheng, can we get a glass of water for Marinette up here? She looks a little pale.”

“Of course Alya, be right up!” 

Alya turned away from the trap door to her best friend. “Okay, what’s got you so worked up girl? Juleka told us some stuff, but apparently not enough.”

“I can tell you a little more! Me and Marinette talked while we walked back.” Rose spoke up. For once, Marinette was glad she wouldn’t have to do the talking. She could just sit back and listen and drink her water. Well, for a little while. The entire room erupted in shrieks and one very annoyed moan from Juleka after Rose described Luka’s love confession to Marinette.

“Oh girl you had better be one-hundred-percent over Adrien if you have a boy like that waiting for you.” Alya jumped on the other end of the chaise and grabbed Marinette’s kneecaps with steel fingers. 

“I don’t think that’s going to be happening anytime soon. I was about to tell you guys what he said before Marinette and Rose came in.” Juleka successfully steered the conversation away from Marinette for another minute while she talked about Adrien grabbing her leg OVER LUKA and telling her that she’s special.

Everyone was laying on the floor groaning by the time Juleka was done. 

“I get it now Marinette.”

“No way could I choose between that.”

“I’m so glad I’m already in a relationship. This is too much.” 

“What are you gonna do?”

All the color returned to Marinette’s face at once as she bolted up. “I don’t know! You heard what they said to me! I can’t just pick one!! What if I choose wrong? What if we have a bad breakup and the other one’s already found a new girlfriend by then? What if neither of them actually like me and this is some ploy Lila set up to ruin me?”

“What? How does Lila factor into any of this?”

“Yeah you need to get over her.”

Marinette sighed and flopped back onto the couch.

“What I’m about to say doesn’t leave this room, got it? None of the boys, not Lila, not the teachers, not your parents, no one. Are we clear?”

Everyone gave a confused yes and leaned in.

“Lila threatened me in the bathroom the day she was turned into Chameleon. She told me that if I didn’t let her get her way and lie to all of you that she would turn you all against me and make my life hell. She doesn’t know Jagged Stone, I asked him myself and he’s never owned a cat. Rose, you can ask Prince Ali if he’s ever met her, I can guarantee he’ll say no. And Alya, next time you see Ladybug, you should ask her about being Lila’s friend. If I was friends with a superhero, I wouldn’t go blabbing about it. It could put them and me in danger.” 

“That’s serious Marinette. Are you sure?”

“Positive. I can pull up the texts from Jagged and Penny right now.” She took out her phone and flipped through it until she found his contact. “There.” 

“...Prince Ali says he’s never heard of her.”

“I told you guys. This isn’t just some petty fight over Adrien. She’s trying to use you, and I don’t want you getting hurt when her lies fall through. I don’t want Nino getting hurt when she doesn’t put him through to a big record label, I don’t want you all turning against each other over this either. She’s trying to tear the class apart and turn into the new Chloe.”

“Marinette, I… I’m sorry. We would never turn against you, though. You’re our friend.” Alya gave her a warm smile. “I know it wasn’t right that I didn’t ask before moving your seat, I just got really excited about sitting next to Nino.” 

“It’s ok. She was faking her tinnitus, so we all ended up in our normal seats anyway.” Marinette squeezed Alya’s hand reassuringly. 

“I thought she said Ladybug healed it?”

“Ladybug’s Miraculous Ladybug only heals akuma damage. Otherwise, wouldn’t everyone in the hospitals be fixed too?”

“Yeah… I guess?”

“So she’s just been playing us the whole time?”

“Yeah… don’t let her know you know, though. I don’t want to get any more flak than I have now. You can tell everyone else that she’s been lying, but make sure they don’t confront her about it either. Just let her keep going. As long as we all know the truth, she’ll just be digging herself a deeper hole.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks for telling us. Sorry we didn’t trust you earlier.”

“You do get a little crazy when anything involves Adrien, though.”

“Yeah…”

“But hey, you’ve proven it’s not just an Adrien thing. And if this whole situation is any kind of indicator, it sounds like you’re starting to get over him.”

“She is not!”

“She totally is. Not completely, but enough for Luka to sneak in.”

“OoooOOOOOoooOoh. Yeah, I guess.”

Everyone nodded. Marinette was looking much better now that she’d been able to get her boy troubles and Lila fight off her chest. 

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to tell Ivan right away.”

“Same, Nino needs to hear it from me first. Well, second.” Alya gave Marinette an apologetic glance.

“It’s fine, just make sure they don’t tell Lila that we know. Especially Nino. I don’t want him getting all angry for nothing. She’ll just weasel her way out of it again.” 

“Got it. Thanks, Marinette. And if you want help setting anything up with Adrien or Luka, you can ask us.”

“Don’t ask me for any help with Luka. He’s weird and I don’t know why you like him.” Juleka raised her hand as she and Rose headed out. Rose called back that she’d keep an eye on Luka instead.

Tikki came out once everyone else had left and a well-meaning Sabine had asked her if she wanted to talk about whatever brought all of her friends over. “Are you feeling better now Marinette?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“So what’s your plan for Luka and Adrien? Are you going out on a date?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually I can't wait for toxic Luka/Mari stans to attack me for redeeming Adrien, that's going to be fun too.

“I think I’ll try it. Like Rose said. One date with Luka, one date with Adrien.” Marinette pulled out the homework that was due tomorrow. 

Tikki was almost giddy. “Great! Who are you going to go out with first?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know how to get a date. Should I even date? Tikki, how am I going to manage, school, a boyfriend, and superhero-ing?” She slammed her hands on the desk, surprised she hadn’t thought about the impact it would have on Ladybug earlier.

“You’ll be fine Marinette! I’m sure you can make time. Besides, if you have a boyfriend, you can spend all the time you’d usually be spending watching Adrien with him!

“Tikki!” Marinette flushed. It was true, but she didn’t have to be so blunt about it! And Marinette was a lot better now than she used to be. She didn’t spend all day on social media tracking his every move through random pictures people would take around Paris. She stopped following him around the school like a lost puppy. She was even getting better at talking to him! Well, she had been before all this happened.

After her homework was done Marinette realized she should probably check her phone. It had been buzzing an awful lot while she and Rose were walking home. Sure enough, there were about 200 texts from the Death Squad, but on top of that were two more texts: One from Luka and one from Adrien, both asking if she was alright.

‘You looked a little pale, so I thought I would just check in.’

‘If I made you uncomfortable, let me know. You looked kinda shaky back there.’

‘Don’t worry I’m fine! Thanks for checking in though.’

‘You didn’t make me uncomfortable, why would you think that? I’m ok btw, promise. I was just a little dehydrated I think.’

Thinking about it, she could just ask either of them right now. Invite one of them to a movie, maybe a cafe, something casual. But, to be honest? She wanted a little more time to herself before she launched into another sensory overload. She would wait a week. Come up with something by the weekend. And by then, maybe she would be a little calmer about the whole situation. At the very least she would have time to strategize.

Ladybug was on top of everything that week. Akumas, paparazzi, the whole shebang. And Chat Noir was almost happy. Almost. It was great that they were taking down akumas so fast, but that meant less time with his Lady, and she seemed to want to cut their already scant time even shorter. She said she was working on something, but she couldn’t tell him what. It was driving Adrien insane! Not to mention Marinette. Either he was trying to woo his Lady or get closer to Marinette so he could get her opinion on Luka. Alya was being less than forthcoming about it, though she seemed very interested that he wanted to know.

“Jealous, Agreste?”

“I just want to make sure she’s not getting into anything she shouldn’t!”

“So… jealous?”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

Alya had just laughed and ran off with Marinette. Nino wasn’t being any help either. And Lila… she was downright nightmarish. If she was clingy the day she was akumatized into Chameleon, this week was 100x worse. He couldn’t turn a corner without her popping up and trying to drag him away from Marinette. After Kagami was akumatized over it, he told her to back off. But… that seemed to make her clingier. The only good thing about it was she couldn’t stand Marinette, so all he had to do was squirm his way next to her and Lila would just pout and back off. 

“Sorry Marinette, she’s been unbearable lately. Don’t tell her I said that.” Marinette gave him a soft laugh and nodded, scooting over so he could have a little more room. 

It wasn’t like he didn’t have other excuses to hang out with Marinette. Alya was her best friend, and Nino was Alya’s boyfriend and Adrien’s best friend. It made sense. And it seemed like Marinette was starting to warm up to him, even!

She was making more jokes, stuttering less, giving more genuine smiles and less I’m-terrified-please-don’t-get-mad-that-I-stuttered-or-tripped smiles. They hung out a lot that week!

And then the bombshell struck. He was heading over to eat with them at lunch when he heard Marinette say the fated words: 

“I have a date with Luka on Saturday!”

How? How did it happen? She’d spent all week hanging out with the three of them and no one had mentioned anything about a date! She could be making the worst mistake of her life and he’d be powerless to protect her! What good was being Chat Noir if he couldn’t even protect his friends?

He took a deep breath and sat down gracefully, hoping he’d masked his emotions well enough that no one would mention anything.

“Hey Agreste, you hear our girl Marinette scored herself a date this weekend?”

No dice. Marinette turned bright red and Adrien feigned delighted surprise.

“Really? Congrats Marinette! Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Luka, Juleka’s bro!” Nino grinned, fist-bumping Marinette across the table.

“Oh, really? I didn’t know you guys hung out outside of Kitty Section.”

“ApPARently he confessed to her after she deakumatized him as Silencer.”

“AND he said the same thing while he was akumatized!”

“Really? Sounds like he really likes you. I’m glad.” He put a hand on her shoulder, noting how her smile had changed from murderous to almost dreamy.

“Yeah… he’s really sweet.” 

Marinette and Luka had been texting all week. They’d cleared up Luka’s worries about scaring her off and Marinette’s sudden nervousness around him. It had been about three in the morning when Luka asked her out. They’d been texting for almost 6 hours and he’d just sprung it on her. 

‘Marinette, can I ask you something?’

‘Sure! What’s on your mind?’

‘So, I know you’re into Adrien, and I don’t want it to sound like I’m jealous, but… would you ever consider going out with me? Just once. I think you’re an amazing girl and I want you to know that before you get too set on him. You can say no and I won’t be mad, I get it if you don’t feel the same. I just… I guess I want you to know how I feel about you.’

It had taken her a full ten minutes before she was coherent enough to respond. Luka was panicking the whole time. He even woke up a very disgruntled Juleka to ask if he’d just screwed everything up irreparably with Marinette.

But she’d said yes. And suddenly he just had to write down the new melody playing in his head. She was giving him a chance! He did it! Sure, she’d said she still had feelings for Adrien, but she wanted to give him a chance, too! He’d passed out from exhaustion about a minute later. Juleka considered smothering him, but Marinette probably wouldn’t have been too happy about it. So, she just crawled back into bed and tried to salvage what was left of her sleep.

When Juleka left the next morning he was playing some sort of power ballad in his room. Whatever. Boys are weird.

Plagg spent the next few days in a constant state of wanting to strangle Adrien and being stuck in the ring as Chat Noir. All Adrien talked about was Marinette this, Luka that, however can I protect sweet Marinette from the woes of love? It was sickening. Aww, but what if Luka breaks her heart? I don’t know and I don’t care, kid. It’s literally not my problem.

Chat Noir managed to catch his lady after a fight where neither of them needed to run off before they detransformed. He needed her advice very badly.

“What’s up Chaton?”

“I need advice! It’s… well, it’s the same friend as before. How do I make sure she’s not going to get her heart broken by some guy?”

“Chat… if she gets her heart broken, that’s on her. If you meddle in it she’s just going to get mad at you. You just need to be there for her when or if it ever happens. Why is it eating you up so bad? You’ve been stressed all week.” Ladybug took a seat on the edge of the roof, swinging her feet over the side.

“I’m worried about her. She’s just… so vulnerable.”

“This isn’t about your very obvious jealousy about this other dude?”

“No! You too, my lady? You know you’re the only one for me. I can’t be jealous! Unless you’ve got a secret boyfriend you haven’t told me about.”

She sighed. “Chaton, I think you need to take a serious look at yourself and this mystery girl and whoever she’s got a crush on. I know you think I’m the only one for you, but the way you talk about this girl, it sounds like you’ve got some unresolved feelings. And even if you do think I’m your soulmate, I have a date.”

“What?”

“I have a date, Chat Noir. This Saturday. I told you I won’t date anyone as Ladybug. It’s too dangerous. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to go have fun. You should too. As your civilian self. Who knows? You might find someone you really like, who already likes you back that way.”

And then she was gone, flying across the city. And leaving a very, very unnerved Chat Noir.

Adrien tore through his room looking for the anonymous valentine he got as soon as he was home. 

“Where is it Plagg? Did you move it?” He yelled, throwing papers all over the floor.

Plagg rolled his eyes. “I didn’t touch your precious valentine. What do you want with it anyways?”

Adrien stopped cold and gesture to his monitor. There, side by side, were two pictures: Ladybug and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s her, Plagg! It has to be!”

“You know more than one person can have a date on Saturday, right?”

“No way, it has to be her.”

“Wow, you’re really hung up on this. I’m going to get some cheese.”

“If you see the card, bring it to me.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”

It took another minute, but Adrien saw a bright red scrap of paper and immediately went to compare it to the notes Marinette had dropped off when he was sick. It was a perfect match. That proved that Marinette wrote the valentine. It was a response to the valentine he’d written to Ladybug and trashed. The description fit Marinette perfectly, he realized. And it explained so much about her.

Ladybug was going on a date with Luka.

Ladybug had a crush on Luka.

Ladybug had a crush on… him?! Now that was something he couldn’t prove. Either Marinette had a crush on him or she was scared of him, and he was far more inclined to go with the latter. But if she did have a crush on him, and she was going out with Luka because he’d called her ‘just a friend’ so many times…

He really screwed this one up, didn’t he?

“Plagg, I have to tell her. I have to tell her I love her.”

“Woah, slow down kid! You don’t even know if she’s Ladybug for sure!” 

“I’m positive.”

Plagg was freaking out. His kid was right, but if he just went and told Marinette she would freak out! That girl was all about keeping her hero and personal lives separate, and for a good reason. Not to mention the fact that if she found out Adrien was Chat Noir she would probably die on the spot.

“What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not.” 

“Adrien, be reasonable! If she’s not Ladybug you’re going to make that poor kid a target for Hawkmoth because of some love confession as Chat Noir!”

“Fine! I’ll give it until Saturday, but Marinette is not going on a date with Luka when she’s supposed to be in love with me!”

Plagg froze. Alright, he had two days to make Adrien see reason and keep Ladybug’s identity a secret. More than that, he’d have to prove Adrien was wrong.

So for the next two days, that’s what he did. He pointed out every time Marinette was flustered, every time she tripped, how she was always late to class. Ladybug would have to be on top of everything if she wanted to make it work, he said. But did Adrien listen? Nope. Plagg was just thankful there was no akuma, because that would’ve thrown all his efforts down the drain.

But it still wasn’t enough. And then it was Saturday.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I wrote the first 12-ish chapters in about 3 days. Silencer really messed me up good.

Marinette was a ball of energy that morning, running around the house and making sure she was ready for absolutely anything. Luka had told her he would pick her up around noon, and that was all she knew. It was a first date, so she didn’t expect to be going to some big fancy ball or anything. Being prepared just helped her anxiety.

“Marinette, he’s here!”

“Coming Maman!” Marinette shrieked as she almost tripped down the stairs. Luka was dressed casually. Marinette looked down at her clothes one last time before opening the door. “Hey Ma-Ma-Marinette. Ready to go? Hi Mrs. Cheng, Mr. Dupain!” He waved to them. Her parents were watching with completely unsuppressed glee from behind the counter. 

“I-I think so! Is this good?” Marinette gestured to her clothes and he laughed. 

“Perfect.”

It took a little over an hour for Luka to lead Marinette to the cafe he’d chosen for their date. He’d wanted it to be far enough away that none of her classmates (well, one in particular) would show up, and it gave them a chance to talk beforehand. Both of them had been nervous, but the conversation flowed as easily as before between them. It was especially a relief to Luka. If things went south, they’d still be friends.

The cafe was cozy and filled with decorative flowers that gave the whole area a fresh scent. Coupled with the pervasive coffee-bean aroma, Marinette felt like she’d just walked into one of her favorite fanfics. 

Adrien had overslept. He’d overslept! It was noon and no one had come to wake him up for lessons or practice or fencing or anything! True, he’d scheduled a personal day today and said he wanted a day to himself, but that didn’t mean he thought he’d actually get one!

“Plagg, get up! She’s already on the date! Claws out!” 

Plagg let out a whine that quickly turned into a yell as he was sucked into the ring.

Paris had never seen Chat Noir running that hard or fast. Some people would swear his claws were leaving gouges in the rooftops he flew over. Others were more worried about what he was running from. An akuma? Ladybug? He looked panicked, so whatever it was couldn’t be good.

Aided by super-strength and speed, Chat Noir found Marinette and Luka in a little under a half hour. They were at a cutesy little cafe, one that he’d fantasized about taking his Lady to when they inevitably started dating. Luka was showing off his finger calluses from years of playing guitar. He used a pick most of the time, but he made sure to play without one every now and again to make sure they didn’t peel off. He didn’t want his fingers to start bleeding if he broke a pick and couldn’t find a new one.

“Marinette!”

While Chat Noir was busy running over the rooftops, Marinette was busy trying to defend her date from Lila. The classmate had come out of nowhere, claiming she frequented this cafe and knew the owners personally.

“Marinette, what a surprise! I hadn’t expected to see you here. And with a boy, too!” She’d slid into an empty seat, batting her eyelashes at Luka without a shred of remorse. 

“Lila, can this wait for another time? We’re busy.” Marinette deadpanned. Luka had seen a lot of emotions from Marinette, but the loathing her heart-song was screaming at this girl told him everything he needed to know, even if her face was a perfect slab of stone right now.

Lila pretended she hadn’t heard the first part of Marinette’s sentence. “Busy, with what? Oh, am I interrupting a d a t e ?” The word rolled off her tongue like honey. 

“Actually, yes.” Luka gave her a patronizing smile before turning back to Marinette. “We can go somewhere else if you want.”

“Oh, no, this place is lovely.” She shot a smile back at him before turning to Lila again. “We can hang out some other time Lila, I know how much you like company but I just can’t right now. Sor-ry.” Lila’s eyes flashed dangerously before she mustered an ear-splitting grin before excusing herself. Not without making goo-goo eyes at Luka one last time, though. She took a seat a few tables away and proceeded to glare at Marinette until Chat Noir, of all people, showed up.

“Marinette, we need to talk.” Chat Noir landed on a wall that surrounded the courtyard where people could eat outside. 

“Really? What about?” She raised an unimpressed eyebrow and shot Luka an apologetic glance. He seemed fine with it, Chat Noir was a superhero after all. It had to be important. 

“It’s important, can we talk in private?” He asked, jerking a thumb at Luka.

She looked at him again before responding. “Actually, I’m kind of on a date right now. Can it wait?”

“No! We need to talk now!” The whine in his voice gave her pause. That was very un-Chat Noir-like. 

“Are you ok? Is it an akuma?” She got up slowly, as did Luka. 

They were treating him like some wounded animal they’d backed into a corner!

“Do we need to get people to safety?” Luka asked. Chat Noir almost hissed at him.

“No, I need to talk to Marinette!”

“Chat Noir, you’re being unreasonable.” A quick glance around told her multiple people were recording this on their phones. “Whatever you need to say, just tell me.”

“Would you just come with me?!”

“Tell me why.”

Lila was getting visibly excited. A confrontation between Marinette and Chat Noir, while she was on a date? She couldn’t have planned this better! But the next words out of Chat Noir’s mouth completely shattered what little fun she was having.

“Because, my Lady, you’re not supposed to be on a date with him! I love you!” 

Suddenly, the cafe was dead silent. The smell from the flowers and coffee was quickly overwhelming Marinette.

“What? Chat Noir, are you high right now?”

“No!”

“I’m not your Lady.”

“Yes, you are!” His voice was steadily rising to a whistle.

Luka looked like he was about to commit a murder. 

“No, I’m not.”

It had to be her. That look was a look he’d only ever seen in Ladybug’s eyes when she was getting ready to fight an akuma. The tone in her voice, too. He could practically see the outline of her mask, for fuck’s sake!

“My Lady, please!”

“Chat Noir, I don’t know what you think you’re on about, but I’m not Ladybug, and you’re interrupting my date.”

He leapt off the wall, landed about half a centimeter away from her, and grabbed her arm. He was shaking.

“You’re Ladybug, and that means you’re my soulmate. I’m not going to stand here and watch you get cozy with  _ this _ guy!” He flailed his arm out towards Luka.

“You’re delusional, and his name is Luka.”

“I know his name goddammit! Marinette, please, listen to me!” 

“No, I don’t think I will. Now get your hands off of me.” 

Marinette saw the akuma a fraction of a second before anyone else. “Akuma! Someone get Chat Noir out of here!”

She  _ flipped _ him over her shoulder with a strength no teenager should possess. He was right, and she was lying to him! 

“Luka, go find something to trap the akuma in, I’m going to find Ladybug!”

“Got it. Sorry our date’s been so… awful?” Luka shot her a pained smile before running into the building. Roughly twenty people were dragging Chat Noir away from the butterfly.

The next ten seconds would be burned into Marinette’s memory forever. The akuma landed on Lila. Chat Noir broke out of the civilians’ hold.

And then

he 

SCREAMED.

“PLAGG, CLAWS IN!” 

Green light flashed, temporarily blinding the civilians and the akuma as Marinette shifted into autopilot. She grabbed Chat Noir, covered his face in her jacket, and ran. He was heavier than he would’ve been if she were transformed, but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was getting him out of here, and fast. She ducked into an alley and slammed him into the wall.

“I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing but if Hawkmoth finds out who you are, if any of those civilians find out who you are, I will personally make your life hell.”

He started to move his hand, but she crushed that into the wall too. “Don’t even THINK of moving that fucking jacket. I don’t want to know your identity either, Chat Noir. Now get out of here, or help those civilians. So help me, if you pull something like this again I’ll make sure Ladybug never sees your face again.”

And then she was running. 

Lila let out a horrific screech that rattled the pavement as she sprinted to Master Fu’s. “I am Envivre! Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you have lived an easy life for too long! Watch as I turn everyone against you! You can’t escape me!” 

There was screaming in the cafe. And then there was silence. Almost fifty people, all bright green, all with one mission. “Find her and bring her to me.”

Marinette had a head-start and almost a year of training as Ladybug over everyone else, so she made it to Master Fu’s with relative ease. 

“Master!”

“I saw everything. Who do you need?”

“You. I need you to use the Fox Miraculous and create an illusion of me. Marinette, me. I have to prove to everyone that I’m not Marinette, and we can use her as bait for the akuma. Can you create her and still be able to hide yourself? If Chat Noir sees you, I’m as good as dead.”

“I think I can manage.” He gave her a serious nod, and then she was back to running. This time, though, she was headed towards the akuma as Ladybug. Lucky for her, all of her underlings were searching for Marinette, not Ladybug. That meant all she had to fight was Envivre.

Chat Noir was already fighting her with everything he had, running around and taunting her as best he could. Which wasn’t very good. 

He sounded hollow.

Until he spotted her, that is. “Are you going to tell the truth or not, Marinette?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and we’re soulmates, and you can’t be on a date with Luka because you’re supposed to be in love with me!”

“Who the fuck is Marinette? Wait, is she that chick we saved from Evillustrator that one time?”

She dodged one of Lila’s attacks and returned with her own. Lila was no more difficult of an akuma than she’d always been. They just had to avoid getting caught in her cone of influence.

Master Fu was having a bit of trouble keeping the Marinette illusion alive. He was good enough with any miraculous that he could keep multiple illusions going at once, but nothing would save him if any of those green freaks managed to touch illusion Marinette and make her go poof.

By the time he got to the cafe where the actual fight was going down, he was wishing he were about 50 years younger. Marinette, however, was doing just fine. 

“Hey, Lila! Over here!” He made her yell, catching the attention of everyone who wasn’t Ladybug in a three-mile radius. He’d gone over the plan with Ladybug before. Get Lila’s attention, provoke her, and while she was distracted Ladybug could swoop in and break her object. It went perfectly, minus Chat Noir getting caught in the beam and almost catching illusion Marinette before Ladybug could cast her cure.

Chat Noir was staring between the two of them with visible confusion. “But… but…”

Ladybug turned to Marinette. “Want me to take you home?”

“Yeah, I think so. Just, when you’re done, can you tell Luka I’m sorry about today? We were supposed to be on a date.” Illusion Marinette shot Chat Noir a glare that should’ve been able to kill him.

“Totally, I’m sure he’ll understand.” 

The next illusion was a work of art. Master Fu and Marinette worked in perfect harmony to make it look like Ladybug picked up Marinette and look off without ever touching the actual illusion.

When Ladybug landed on her balcony she immediately collapsed into tears. Today was too close, and that wasn’t the half of it.

Her date with Luka? Ruined.

Lila? Any day with Lila in it was automatically bad.

Chat Noir? She wasn’t sure whether or not she was going to kill him.

And she still had to go back and tell Luka that they’d have to reschedule their date.

After taking a few minutes to collect herself, she re-transformed and took off over the city again. Luka was staring at the table where they’d eaten not even an hour ago with an expression that broke her heart.

“Ladybug! Is Marinette ok?”

“She’s… she’s safe. And she told me to tell you that she feels horrible about how the date went and she hopes you’re not mad at her.”

“I could never be mad at her. Did she say whether or not she would reschedule?”

“I think she’s open to it.”

“What are you going to do about Chat Noir?”

“...I don’t know. We’re definitely going to discuss this. There will be consequences.” She clenched her fists to keep from shaking.

“You should text her. I wouldn’t go see her just yet, though. She seemed pretty shaken up. Good luck.” She gave him a soft smile before heading to Master Fu’s to thank him for saving her ass back there. She ran into Chat Noir on the way and nearly tackled him.

“What the fuck were you thinking? You tried to reveal yourself to a civilian over some stupid crush? Get your head out of your ass Chat Noir! That was the most idiotic, stupid, GAH!” She shrieked, shoving him. “This isn’t a game Chaton! There are people’s lives at stake! If she hadn’t had the good sense to not look at you, she could’ve become a target for Hawkmoth! She’ll probably still be a target thanks to that stunt you pulled! Get it together!” 

He didn’t respond, just stared at her. “Who are you?”

“I’m not telling you, idiot. That’s the whole point. Which you clearly still don’t understand.”

“If you’re not Marinette, then who? Your hair, your eyes, everything matches!” 

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out. Maybe I would’ve revealed myself once Hawkmoth was defeated, but not anymore. You’ve got a lot of making up to do before I even entertain the idea of knowing who you are.”

She left him on a rooftop and make a very un-graceful entrance through Fu’s window.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll be giving him a talking to, for starters.” Fu shook his head. “But you should go. You have other problems right now. Like that nice Luka boy.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to the rich text option on AO3, they really came out and said you CAN copy-paste from a google doc. <3 <3

She was honestly dreading talking to Luka. He’d been nice enough to Ladybug, but what if he was just lying to save face? He’d looked so crushed, sitting at that table all alone… 

Her phone buzzed as soon as she destransformed. It was Luka.

‘Want to talk about it?’

‘I think I’m still in shock, tbh’

She would’ve said more, but her mom and dad had just piled into her room with a tray of fresh pastries and she knew she was going to get no peace for the next hour, at least. 

After she’d explained as much of the situation as she could to her parents and promised that she didn’t need a restraining order on Chat Noir and that he was probably just desperate, she checked her phone again. Every single one of her classmates was going insane. Alya had linked her to the videos everyone had sent in of Chat Noir’s breakdown. People were calling for him to go to therapy, give up his miraculous, make a public apology, get a restraining order, anything. 

‘Alya you have to take those down, what if he gets akumatized?’

‘Shit, I’ll try.’

She looked up at her balcony, half expecting Chat Noir to be waiting there for her. She’d told him off, but it wasn’t like she thought he would listen. It was blissfully empty up there. She started going through the texts, but then decided to just do a mass message.

‘I’m fine, I’m not Ladybug, Chat Noir didn’t hurt me, and he’s getting help. Thanks for checking in on me, I’ll talk more at school.’

That stopped the barrage of texts, but she still had one more she needed to respond to. Luka.

‘I’m just glad you’re ok. Take all the time you need, but I’m here whenever you need/want to talk. Sorry it was such a shitty date.’

‘It wasn’t a shitty date (for the most part). Actually, I was gonna ask if you wanted to reschedule?’

‘I was gonna ask you the same thing. Wanna just hang at one of our houses this time? Then we won’t get interrupted as much.’

‘Sounds great :)’

‘Would you be okay with tomorrow?’

‘Sure! My place or yours?’

‘We can hang on the boat. Juleka and my mom are going shopping or something.’

Luka fell back onto his bed with a sigh and a smile. She really was incredible. One of the few people who’d managed to not get hit by Envivre recorded the battle, and along with it Marinette taunting and distracting Lila so the heroes could do their work. He’d make up for the ruined date next time.

Juleka practically busted his door on her way in. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO DO?!”

“Nothing, I swear! Chat Noir just went crazy!”

Ugh, Chat Noir. He’d thought Adrien was bad, but for a superhero to try to reveal himself just to ruin their date? That was beyond low.

“I swear if you did anything to Marinette the entire Death Squad will be here in a minute flat to beat your ass. That girl has been through hell and back and just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I won’t destroy you if you hurt her.”

“Try telling that to Chat Noir.”

“If I see him, I will, but you’re here right now.”

“Thanks Jules, you’re a true protector of the innocent.” He snorted as she pushed him.

“Just be careful with her, okay?”

“You have my word.”

She punched him one more time in the shoulder for good measure.

The boat was empty except for Luka sunbathing on the deck when Marinette showed up the next morning.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” Luka practically ran up to her to crush her in a hug.

“Better now.” She mumbled into his shirt. 

“Yeah… sorry everything kinda went to shit yesterday.”

“It’s not your fault. Lila just likes making my life hell, and I don’t know what happened with Chat Noir.”

“Well, today’s going to be completely chill. No surprises. I hope.” When Marinette looked up from his shirt, Luka was blushing.

“Good. I could use a normal day.”

Marinette taught Luka how to cook one of her favorite recipes, Luka played Marinette some of the new songs he’d written, and they just had a good time all around. When Juleka and Anarka got home they were in the middle of watching a football game.

“That’s a foul! He totally touched it with his hands!” Marinette yelled.

“No way, he’s clean!”

“Oh yeah? Watch!” She gestured to the slow-mo instant replay. The played in question had tripped, thrown his hands out to catch himself, and just barely brushed the ball as it went by. “That’s not his fault! He was falling!” 

“Was so! He reached for it.” Marinette caught sight of Juleka then. “Hey! Come watch, was that a foul or not?”

“I saw, it was a foul. He tried to push it towards his teammate. Why are you guys watching football?”

“Oh, we just got bored channel-surfing.”

“Weird. I would’ve thought you’d both be dead of awkwardness by now.” She shrugged and went to her room.

“How late is it?” Marinette pulled her phone out. 

“Wanna head home? I can walk you.”

She leaned into him with a grin. “That would be nice.” 

The walk home was filled with giggling and snide comments half-whispered when no one was looking. Naturally, some people would watch when they recognized the two kids from the previous day’s akuma attack.

Luka even did a scathing impression of Chat Noir, leaning down to kiss her hand and everything. She couldn’t help but laugh when he called her ‘my Lady.’

All too soon they were back in front of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and it was time for Luka to head back to the Liberty.

“Thanks for today.” 

“Any time.”

His breath caught in his throat as he looked down at Marinette. She looked happy. Happier than he’d seen her yesterday, this morning, happier, even, than when she was talking about Adrien. He never wanted that to change. 

“...Luka?”

“Mm?”

“Do I… still have permission?” 

He sucked in a breath. “Always.”

Their lips met for a fraction of a second, but Luka’s head was filled with fireworks. He lingered in that space for just a second longer, breathing in the air they’d shared. 

“Goodnight, Luka.”

“Goodnight, Marinette.” 

She floated through her door like a light pink dream and Luka wondered when he’d fallen so, so deeply for her.

__

Adrien’s day couldn’t have gotten worse. He made an absolute fool of himself, made his Princess and his Lady mad, and now Master Fu was asking him to come down for a ‘talk.’

He slunk into the Guardian’s home and seemed to melt into the floor as he called his detransformation. Plagg looked around worriedly. 

“Good, I was worried you weren’t going to show up. That’s a good start.” Fu smiled warmly at him.

“Master, I’m sorry, I thought-”

“-You thought you’d found Ladybug, and your first instinct was to interrupt her date and try to reveal yourself to her.”

Adrien made a sound like a broken windpipe.

“I can understand being excited about a crush Adrien, but the way you pursued that was reckless. You need to learn to respect not only your partner, but Marinette, too. Ladybug has told you numerous times that she is not interested, and Marinette-”

“Marinette confessed to Chat Noir!”

“And yet, she very clearly told you no today. You’re lucky that’s all she did. You come from a wealthy background, but I know you’ve learned how to take a ‘no’ from your father. What makes Ladybug different?”

“Aren’t we supposed to be soulmates?”

“There have been past Ladybugs and Chat Noirs who were simply best friends. Soulmates does not mean lovers.”

“But, if Ladybug and I aren’t meant to be together, then-?”

“You are afraid you will be left alone like your father. You think if you do not find your romantic partner that you will become a shell, like him. But you have friends, Adrien, many friends. Real friends that care about you. They won’t leave you behind.”

“How do you know that?”

“When has Ladybug ever made you feel as though she would abandon you? Even today, when you angered her, did she seem like she would leave you?”

“...No.”

“Do you understand now? These people, they won’t leave you. You just have to reach out to them and be sincere, Adrien. Starting with Ladybug.”

“Thank you, Master. Could… could we do something like this more often?”

“I think that would be beneficial, yes. We can substitute it for your Chinese lessons every now and again.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this entire fic while listening to TLT on repeat. Can't believe this guy's most popular song is Discord (it slaps but like. The brony really popped out) ((full disclosure I've tried watching mlp several times and I just can't get through it))

Walking into the school on Monday was nothing short of terrifying for Marinette. People were swarming her begging for any little scrap of info she could give them. Ivan ended up having to bum-rush the crowd, pick up Marinette, and carry her into their classroom so she’d have a chance to actually speak.

It was silent in the room (not counting everyone screaming outside for Ivan to get out of the way of the door).

“Are you ok?”

Marinette turned back to see it was Nathaniel who’d asked the first question. She gave what she hoped was a cheery smile. “I’m alright. Luka and I rescheduled the date, and Chat Noir’s getting help. I’m not mad at him or anything. We all know how he gets about Ladybug.”

Nobody saw Adrien flinch in the front row. He and Master Fu had talked long into the night about his feelings for Ladybug and Fu managed to get him to admit he’d gone off the deep end when he thought Marinette was Ladybug because he’d wanted her to be Ladybug so bad. Now he was working through his feelings for Marinette and dealing with the fact that she’d chosen Luka.

Which was another problem. Fu had told him to back off entirely! He said that Adrien needed to trust Marinette to know what a good or a bad relationship was, and if things did end up going south he would just have to make sure he was a shoulder to cry on.

He’d gone to bed with a lot on his mind and woken up with even more. Halfway through the night he remembered that Ladybug had said she’d be on a date that Saturday too, so not only had he interrupted Marinette and Luka, he’d interrupted his Lady and whoever she was seeing. He’d have to make a double apology for that. So, in the dead of night, he’d gone to his desk and scrawled out a paper apology to Marinette that he was going to leave in the trap door on her balcony. He would apologize to his Lady in person, but he wasn’t sure Marinette would give him the time of day after what he’d done. 

The guilt had set in immediately after he and Ladybug had defeated Envivre. That marked the fourth time Lila had been akumatized, and this time she’d specifically targeted Marinette. And he’d heard through the grapevine (read: Nino) that Lila had threatened Marinette on the day she was akumatized into Chameleon, and that the rest of the class knew about her lies now and to make sure no one told Lila that they all knew. They were going to let her dig herself into a hole she couldn’t get out of. At least they were all still being nice to her. 

Lila, on the other hand, was worse than ever. She was flat-out denying ever having said that Marinette’s life was better than hers and that it was just Hawkmoth trying to antagonize her. Didn’t everyone know her and Marinette were the best of friends?

Yeah… no one believed that. But they all smiled and nodded and patronized her. She could see the laughter behind their eyes. Somehow they’d all found her out and were just playing the long game. Well, two could play at that. She just needed to find new, more creative ways to make Dupain-Cheng’s life hell.

Starting with that Couffaine boy. He was no Adrien, but she knew it would cut Marinette just as deep if she went for him, too.

And so, she started devising a plan.

Marinette spent most of the morning answering the class’ questions, including Mlle. Bustier. Once people were satisfied that she wasn’t traumatized, she still didn’t know who Chat Noir was, and she wasn’t going to press charges, they allowed class to start. Alya put up a big post on her blog about why she took down the videos of Chat’s freak-out and how Marinette felt about the situation, and that they both wanted everyone to cut Chat Noir some slack while still recognizing that what he did was bad. 

Marinette was more worried about the people who had seen it, spread it like wildfire, and were now creating conspiracy pages about why she WAS, in fact, Ladybug. Some people hit the nail on the head and said the Marinette that showed up later was an illusion, likely made by Rena Rouge. Enough people were shouting them down that the theories weren’t gaining traction, but it was still worrisome that people were closer to finding her out than ever before. Hawkmoth was sure to be keeping a closer eye on her than ever before, and she’d warned Tikki that she may need to take the earrings off and keep them in her purse from time to time now, just to dispel any unwanted attention. That, or she’d need to pin them on a piece of clothing somewhere they couldn’t be seen.

Tikki had said it would be ok as long as she made sure not to lose the earrings. It wasn’t an ideal solution, but keeping her identity a secret was crucial right now.

And then there was the matter of securing a date with Adrien… She’d fully enjoyed her date with Luka, but she promised herself and Alya that she wouldn’t make a decision until she’d been on a date with both of them.

And that meant working up the courage to ask Adrien out.

Her biggest worry was that he’d say no since he knew about her date with Luka. Or that he’d ask if something had gone wrong between them. She didn’t know what she would say if that happened. ‘Well, you see, it was actually the best date I’ve ever been on, but I’ve had a crush on you since the day I met you and I need to know for sure whether my feelings for Luka are stronger than my feelings for you, so please be my guinea pig?’ That wouldn’t go well at all. Little did Marinette know, Adrien was coming up with the same idea for Marinette and Ladybug. 

First, he had to apologize. Sincerely. And once everyone was back on good terms with Chat Noir, then he could ask Ladybug out on one singular test date. For now, though, he could still ask Marinette out as Adrien. He’d get Master Fu’s approval first, though, and make sure that what he was doing wouldn’t be stepping on Luka’s toes. The last thing he wanted was to ruin Marinette’s love life in AND out of the mask. 

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

He… he would respect her decision. But to come to the conclusion that he liked her only for it to instantly be torn away was something he didn’t know if he could handle yet.

At least Marinette had said she wasn’t mad at Chat Noir.

That was a start. He wouldn’t be making any late night trips to her balcony for a while (except to drop off that note), but it was definitely a start.

Everyone in Marinette’s class made a protective circle around her during lunch and even that wasn’t enough to dissuade the other classes from screaming questions at her. At some point she climbed on the table and yelled everything she’d told her class to the rest of the school, and only then did things quiet down properly. No one could find Lila until lunch was over, and Marinette had a sinking feeling in her stomach over it.

‘That chick from before showed up at the boat an hour ago saying you didn’t want to talk to me anymore? Is there a reason? Did I do something wrong?’

Ah. So she’d found Luka. 

‘She’s a compulsive liar that hates my guts. You didn’t do anything wrong, and I still want to talk to you. Sorry you had to deal with her :P’

‘Really? That’s insane. I’ll keep an eye out for her. Why’s she hate you so much?’

Marinette wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was because of Adrien, but that really wasn’t something she wanted Luka to know. He was good enough to tell her to chase him after their date at the ice rink, but now? She didn’t want him to feel like that date was meaningless, or worse, that she only went through with it as a pity date.

‘I’m not actually sure. Going off of that akuma, apparently it’s because my life is so much better than hers.’

‘Wild. How’s everyone been treating you today?’

‘I got up on a table at lunch and yelled at them all, so about as expected. You? You were involved in that fiasco too.’

‘Yeah, everyone was asking me what happened. Mostly they were just congratulating me on finally getting a date with you ;)’

‘Nerd :)’

Marinette scrolled back up to get a screenshot of Luka’s message and popped it into the Death Squad chat. Watching everyone’s reactions around the room was definitely the highlight of her day. Her favorite? Alya almost crunching her phone with her bare hands. She’d seen her best friend and Nino working out every now and then. It was impressive, how strong they were getting! And without Miraculous!

The rest of the day was quiet. Reporters knew to stay away from anyone who’d been involved in akuma attacks, lest they face the wrath of Ladybug herself. Sometimes Chat Noir would make an appearance to denounce a particular reporter if they’d been bad enough to warrant it. 

Marinette was packing up her things when the inevitable happened. 

“Hey Marinette, do you mind staying back? I want to talk.”

The honey dripping off of those words made everyone the room instantly worried for Marinette’s safety. Lila was planning something. They hoped Marinette had the good sense to lie and say she was busy. 

“Sure.”

It was a death sentence. Alya made sure to tell Marinette that she would be waiting outside and if things went bad she should yell.

Adrien looked back at Marinette and wondered if he shouldn’t just ask her now. Probably not, it would only elevate whatever Lila was about to do. He wanted to ask her in private, he decided.

Everyone filed out after a few awkward minutes. Lila checked the door, then went to sit on Marinette’s desk.

“I wanted to apologize for getting akumatized. That wasn’t right of me.”

Marinette served her a sticky-sweet smile. “Oh, it’s fine! It’s happened to almost everyone in class.”

“Everyone except you and Adrien. You two are always so sweet, looking out for everyone else.”

“That’s very kind of you to say. Was that all you wanted?”

Lila’s eyes turned sharp for just a second before she responded. “Yep! I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am. You know, my home life isn’t exactly stellar, with my mom always gone.”

“I can imagine. But you have plenty of friends, so at least you have a support group.” Marinette shouldered her bag. “I really appreciate the apology Lila. It’s good to know we can still be friends.”

“Of course!”

Both girls walked out together and found Alya waiting at the front.

“Oh, you didn’t have to wait for us!” Lila cooed.

Alya gave them both a warm smile. She was surprisingly good at faking one, Marinette realized. “I wouldn’t leave my friends behind! Is everything finally good between the both of you? Marinette?”

Never get on Alya’s bad side, she noted in the back of her head. “Yep! We’re all good now.”

“Great, because I want ice cream and I was going to drag one of you, but now I can drag you both!”

“That sounds great!” Lila linked her arm through Marinette’s and Alya copied quickly. “Let’s go!”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me out here projecting romantic anxiety onto Marinette (and not without precedent! Girl's a mess around her crushes)

Marinette had made sure to keep her purse on the opposite side of Lila as they walked to Andre’s wandering shop. He was in front of the Louvre, so there was a good chance they’d see Nathaniel and Alix (and maybe Marc, if they were lucky). Lila spent the entire walk telling a story about her mom always being away and having increasingly more famous people come over to babysit her when she was young, and that’s how she had so many contacts now. Marinette nodded and smiled while Alya actually engaged her. Unknown to Marinette, the Death Squad had assembled the entire class (Lila and Marinette aside) and briefed them on how to deal with Lila now that they knew she was specifically using them to try and hurt Marinette. Adrien had actually been the one to teach them all how to lie. 

When asked how he knew so much, he’d just smiled cryptically and said his father was very strict.

When they found Andre the line was super short, but the sound of footsteps coming from the Louvre said it wouldn’t be that way for long. All three girls broke into a run with Marinette in the lead. Lila tried to trip her, but just managed to catch her heel.

“Sorry!” 

“You’re fine.”

Andre turned to look at the three winded girls who were smiling up at him. “Ah, old friends! And a new one, it seems.” He studied Marinette very closely for a moment before looking up at Alya and Lila. “For you, the usual. Your heart is true as ever! And for you, I may need a little more time to think. You have a very interesting heart, dear.” His smile was warm, but his eyes were as cold as his confections when he turned around.

“And you, dear Marinette, your heart seems to be changing. A new beau, perhaps? Or a cherie?” He took a scoop of blue moon, green apple, and a new black scoop.

“Blue for one, green for the other, and charcoal for the torment inside you.” Marinette stared at the ice cream in shock. That certainly spelled things out for her.

“Now, back to you! I have uncovered your heart.” He shook his scoop at her with a smile. “A scoop of orange, chocolate, and green apple will set your heart right.” For once, Lila didn’t comment. She just smiled and took the frosty treat from Andre.

The girls meandered over to the stairs to eat and watch everyone who’d just left the museum. They all swarmed the ice cream stand, giving the trio plenty of time to observe and comment on each of them.

“He’s kinda cute.”

“I love her dress!”

“You can tell she’s been dealing with that baby all day, poor thing!”

For all their looking, no one spotted Alix, Nathaniel, or Marc by the time they’d finished their treats.

They were just about to leave when Alya tackled Marinette, clapping one hand over her mouth and pointing with the other at the two boys who’d just walked out from around opposite corners. Marinette couldn’t help but squeak into her hand.

“Oh?” Lila glanced at both the boys, a new plan coming to her. “Marinette, don’t you want to go say hi?” She started to stand up, but Alya’s hand found her shoulder and promptly sank her to the ground. The look in her eyes screamed murder, and Marinette couldn’t have been more grateful. Or… she would’ve been, if she had been paying attention to anything besides the boys. 

They’d spotted each other and both looked like they wanted to turn tail. Unfortunately, they were too polite.

“Luka, hey!” Adrien’s voice was unnaturally high.

“Hi Adrien. What brings you here?”

“Oh, uh, I was just going to get some ice cream from Andre! What about you?”

“Hm… same.”

“Ah… really? What a coincidence.” They both looked away at that, slowly moving towards the now gargantuan line.

“Well! At least now we won’t be waiting alone.” 

“Get your nails out of my shoulder Mari.” Alya waved her hand in front of Marinette’s face and she let go in surprise. 

“Sorry! I didn’t--”

“It’s fine girl, I’m stressed too.” 

“Why? What’s so special about those two?” Lila asked innocently.

Alya smirked and checked over her shoulder to make sure the boys in question still hadn’t noticed them. “Well, our girl Marinette here may have a teensy-weensy, itty-bitty-little-crush on them, and she doesn’t know who she likes more.”

“I thought you liked Luka? I saw you guys on that date.” She purred.

“If you were into two different guys and wanted to see who you had stronger feelings for, wouldn’t you take them both out on a test date? Make sure you know which one is better in a relationship?”

Marinette had zoned out again at that point, peering out from behind Alya’s shoulder and trying to hear the boys again. They were already in line, though, and it was impossible to hear them over everyone else. That didn’t stop her from watching to make sure they weren’t watching her. 

That, and……. She really wanted to know what ice cream soulmate Andre was going to give them.

Wait. Andre! Shit! He knew they were just there!

“Alya, we gotta find somewhere better to hide, Andre knows we’re here!” She interrupted whatever Alya was saying to Lila and almost dragged her off. Alya managed to grab Lila before they got too far. 

“Let’s go inside, then we can watch through the windows.” Alya suggested. Marinette whipped them around and into the closest door. On the other side, they found Alix. And Nathaniel. And Marc. All watching the same thing they were.

“Get inside, get inside!” Alix dragged them roughly in, giving a confused look to Marinette when she registered that Lila was with them.

Nathaniel pulled Marinette gently aside, asking if everything was ok. “It’s fine, me and Alya are handling it.” Her voice was barely above a murmur. Then they were all back in front of the window. Alix had her phone out and was zoomed in on Andre’s cart. 

“I’m not missing this for the world. If they get the same flavor I’m gonna lose it Mari.”

“You’re gonna lose it? Marinette’s gonna faint!”

“I will not!”

“You absolutely will. You almost fainted when Adrien waved at you that one day!”

“I didn’t know him well enough then, ok Alya? Now shush, I don’t wanna be distracted!”

“They’re almost to the front of the line!”

“What’s Andre saying? Can anyone read lips?”

“He looks confused.”

“I can read lips. This is a little grainy, but he’s making a joke about… competition? They’re competing over something? Alix, stop shaking your phone please.”

“I can’t help it, I’m zoomed in super close!”

“Here comes the ice cream….”

Everyone held their breath, staring out the windows and at Alix’s phone.

Same flavor.

Dark blue, light blue, red.

They turned to stare at Marinette, waiting for a reaction. She was pale and Alya was ready to say ‘I told you so’ if she fainted. After Mari recovered, of course. Luckily, she didn’t faint. She just kept staring.

All she could hear was her own heartbeat. 

Then, suddenly, she was sprinting down the hall. “THEY’RE COMING THIS WAY!”

Everyone bolted. Well… almost everyone.

Adrien and Luka were headed that way, but more because they wanted to sit on the steps. They had… some things to discuss.

“So… you really like her?” Adrien asked, glancing at the older boy. 

“I do. Do you?” 

“I… I’ve liked her for a long time. I just didn’t realize… I thought what I felt was friendship.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know. I want to take her out on a date, at least. But… it seems like she already picked you.”

Luka had to choose: Tell Adrien the truth and risk losing Marinette, or lie and maybe have it blow up in his face later. He was tempted, just for the short term benefit of not having to compete with Agreste.

He sighed. “She’s had a crush on you as long as I can remember. Back at the ice rink, I even told her to go after you at the end there.”

“R-Really?” Adrien coughed, choking on his ice cream in surprise. “You’re serious? Marinette had a crush on me?”

“HAS a crush on you. I thought, since she said yes to going out with me to that cafe, it meant she was over you… or trying to get over you. But I don’t know for sure.” He spooned some cherry chocolate chip into his mouth, mulling over his next words carefully. 

“Whatever you do, be careful with her. If you break her heart, or hurt her in any way, I will come after you. She’s special, and she deserves to be treated that way.”

Adrien swallowed hard. “Yeah. She does. So… you’re not going to try to stop me?”

“It’s not my choice. It’s hers.”

“Then… good luck. And I hope, whoever she picks… we can still be friends.” Adrien held his hand out to the blue-haired boy. “Truce?”

“...Truce.” Luka took his hand. It was cold, from holding the ice cream. The last thing he’d expected was Agreste wanting to be his friend. The second last thing he’d expected was to say yes. Maybe… maybe Adrien wasn’t so bad. “Wanna… go look at some exhibits?”

Adrien looked over his shoulder at the door behind him. “Beats going home.”

The pair wandered inside, each wondering if he’d just made a deal with the devil. They both saw Lila at the same time.

“Oh my gosh, hi Luka! Adrien!” She walked up to both of them and pressed kisses to their cheeks.

“Luka, this is Lila.”

“We’ve met.”

The frostiness in their eyes didn’t deter her at all. “What brings you two to the Louvre? I actually know the owner--”

“Alix’s dad? The whole class knows him.”

“Well, yeah! Of course!” She recovered. “I just wasn’t sure Luka knew!” She wrapped her hands around Luka’s arm and batted her lashes at Adrien.

“I’ve met him once or twice through Juleka.”

Adrien had to blink a few times to make sure he’d seen everything correctly when Luka got out of her hold. It was so fluid that Lila didn’t realize what had happened for a second. He’d have to ask how he did that later. 

“Anyways… You two never answered my question! What are you doing here?”

They looked at each other, then back at Lila. Adrien answered quicker. “I’m here to get inspiration for my father. He’s thinking about doing a new vintage collection. Luka just came for ice cream, but I asked him if he wanted to tag along. Art’s more fun when you have a friend to experience it with.”

Luka picked up on the casual use of ‘friend’ and wondered if Adrien was lying or just thought they were friends that easily. They were still at acquaintance level, from his point of view.

“Well if that’s the case, then another friend must make it even more fun!” At this point Lila had realized Luka was fairly slippery, so she switched sides to hold onto Adrien. Luka put a hand on his shoulder in silent apology.

The trio wandered the museum, Lila keeping an eye out for Marinette and the others. They’d have to have noticed she was missing by now, and that meant they would come looking for her. She would get Marinette stuck between both of them if it killed her.

It took almost an hour of looping through the museum, but she finally spotted Marinette’s group at the end of the Roman Empire exhibit.

“Marinette!” 

“Lila, where have you--?” Whatever Marinette was about to say was choked back down as she processed the two boys that were accompanying her. Her face turned white for half a second, then bright, bright red.

Tikki must’ve been working overtime in the luck department because both boys were flushed and speechless, too.

“Hey Adrien, Luka! Thanks for finding Lila for us.” Alya grinned, covering for her bestie.

Nathaniel gave an exasperated look to Marc. “Geez, everyone’s in the museum today. Who’s next? Chloe and Sabrina?” 

Marc giggled.

Luka recovered first, going over to give Marinette a hug. “Hey.” He could feel the tension radiating from her muscles as she hugged him back a little too tight. Adrien felt his skin prickle at the sight. He’d made a promise, though, and he wasn’t going to go back on it. If she was truly in love with Luka, he would back off.

“Hey Marinette, everyone.” Adrien smiled and gave her a little wave. She waved back, turning just a shade darker. Take that, Couffaine.

“Damn, we were just getting ready to leave. How long have you guys been here?” Alix asked, trying to bail Marinette out.

“Eh, about an hour. Adrien, do you think you have enough inspiration for your dad’s collection?”

“Yeah, I think so. Lila, are you done?”

“Well, I didn’t get to see the Roman Empire exhibit yet…” She looked behind her at the artifacts they’d gone past to get to Marinette. 

“Eh, I live here. I can give you the tour.” Alix grinned, peeling Lila off of Adrien and pulling her away from everyone else. If she couldn’t rescue Marinette from the boys, she would at least get rid of Lila. Adrien visibly relaxed once she was gone.

“So, were you planning anything after this?”

“Not really. Marinette and I were gonna go to her place.”

“Yeah, and me and Marc were going to hang out in the art room back at school, work on our next issue.” Their comic had been getting a lot of traffic online and they were pretty excited.

“Good to see you guys hanging out though! See ya!” Alya picked up Marinette and guided her to the door.

“Yeah… see ya.” The boys looked after the girls with mild disappointment. Was it just their imagination, or had Marinette been trying to avoid them?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really said give the boys nightmare trauma on this one, didn't I? TW for character death but it's just in the dream so not really *shrug*

“You don’t have to actually come over Alya. Thanks for bailing me out, though.”

“Nonsense. We’re going to watch a movie, pop some popcorn, and forget both of them for a while. That was the tensest I’ve seen you since you stood up to Chloe.”

“I was pretty terrified.”

“I know. I was there. Now come on, before they follow us!” They both broke out in grins and took off for the bakery.

The girls stumbled in winded and laughing. Alya knew she’d probably be staying the night, and she also knew that Marinette and her had traded a pair of pajamas just for these special occasions. 

“Alright, what are we watching?” Alya plopped down at Marinette’s computer and logged into Netflix. 

“Comedy or action! And absolutely NO ROMANCE!” Marinette yelled, grabbing both of them a pair of pajamas. 

“Got it! Cheesy rom-com!” Alya was promptly pelted with a ball of clothing from a laughing Marinette. 

“Not if you wanna stay the night! Action! Comedy! I would take horror over romance tonight!”

Alya laughed with her as she flipped through categories, looking for something to suit the mood tonight. She was tempted to put on a love triangle just to tease Mari, but she knew it wouldn’t do anything but stress her out more. They settled on the newest Mecha-Strike movie. It wasn’t anything special, but it did the job. Marinette was looking significantly better by the time the credits rolled. Alya just had to keep her distracted until they were ready to sleep. 

She started by doing their homework together and asking Marinette about her newest fashion designs. She asked her about how she thought the Ladyblog was doing, as was customary, and then proceeded to spend no less than three hours making fun of every single akuma for their horrible fashion choices and then Hawkmoth for making them like that. 

“...Like, get a little class! You would make a better villain than Hawkmoth! I mean, at the very least, your akumas would look cool.”

Marinette laughed at that one. “Yeah, I could totally be a villain! Have you seen me, Alya? I would take one look at Ladybug and Chat Noir, turn to run, and twist my ankle. I wouldn’t even have time to make an akuma.”

They both cackled at the thought of Hawkmoth being caught because he twisted his ankle while trying to flee. 

“You know, for a supervillain, he’s pretty terrible.” Alya slung her arm around Marinette. “I bet the heroes are going to get him any day now.” 

“I hope so. We’re missing enough school as is.” 

“Yeah, but Bustier and Mendeliev just turn everything into homework and reading.”

Marinette shuddered, thinking of how different her life would’ve been if Hawkmoth had never shown up. In a way, she was grateful. She was still going to whoop his ass when she found him.

Alya fell asleep before Marinette. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t beat her. Marinette had some freaky ability to run on less than two hours of sleep that Alya didn’t understand. 

Marinette took another hour to fall asleep while she whispered to Tikki about if she knew what she should do. It had to be a sign that both boys had gotten the same ice cream. Tikki didn’t have an answer for her other than a rather unhelpful ‘follow your heart!’

Marinette did not sleep well that night. Alya may have been able to distract her while she was awake, but her subconscious was not to be swayed.

Luka slept worse.

He was in a room with wooden floors. Marinette was standing with her back to him, talking about something. He couldn’t hear her over the sound of water rushing through his head. One step forward. Time became liquid, thick like honey, and his arm was reaching out but she was so far away, and now she was melting, dripping down between the floorboards and he couldn’t scream to warn her, couldn’t reach her to pull her back up, couldn’t scoop up the last dregs of inky black that were once her hair. 

She was gone. 

The rest of the room came into focus. 

White walls, 

white ceiling, 

no doors, 

no windows. 

He was going to be trapped in there forever. 

And he couldn’t scream.

Someone was standing in Marinette’s place now, staring at him as he tried to move. It looked like him, but wrong. Like an akuma of your closest friend. You know it’s them, but the features that should’ve been identifiable were warped and now you weren’t quite sure if you hadn’t been hallucinating the whole time. He was trapped in a blank room with wood floors and no escape and some THING staring at him, challenging him, judging him, YOU lost her, this is YOUR fault, YOU should have protected her, she’s gone, she’s gone, she’s gone she’s gone she’s gone she’s gone you’re never going to see her again and it’s ALL HER FAULT!

The creature screamed.

He woke up.

Somewhere in the city, a blonde boy scared his kwami as he awoke, screaming.

Marinette and Adrien looked like garbage when they walked into class the next day. Lila was chipper as ever. Hooray. Well, until Adrien collapsed on top of Marinette, trying not to cry.

“A-Adrien?!” 

“Are you okay bro?”

“Someone get him some water!” 

Marinette pulled Adrien onto her and Alya’s bench, trying to get a coherent sentence out of him, but all he seemed capable of saying was, “I’m sorry, I should’ve been better.”

“What are you talking about, you have nothing to apologize for!” Marinette was starting to get anxious. Something had clearly scared him, and it had to do with Marinette. 

Alya put Adrien’s water bottle down in front of him and crawled over the top of the desk to sit next to Nino. Nino had crawled over to sit on Adrien’s other side and was rubbing his back. 

(From left to right: Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Alya)

Marinette’s jacket was soaked by the time they’d gotten Adrien calm enough to say what had happened.

“I had… a dream. And you were in it! And, and you melted? I think you died? I don’t know, you disappeared, and I couldn’t save you, and then there was this thing! And I think it was me, and it kept saying it was all my fault, and you were never coming back.” He started hyperventilating again, so Nino handed him his water. 

Alya looked over at Marinette with very clear worry in her eyes. Most of the other students were packed all around the girls’ desk, letting Adrien know they were here for him. 

“I’m okay, promise, and I’m not mad at you.” Marinette grabbed both his hands and squeezed. He gave a weak squeeze back, then looked around at everyone who’d gathered to make sure he was okay.

“I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it, but I saw you and I just--”

“I know. I’ve had dreams like that before.” Marinette tilted his face so he was looking right at her. “I’m not going anywhere. Promise.”

She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, then asked Alya if she’d mind having an extra benchmate or two for the day.

Halfway across the city, Luka was having an anxiety attack. It had started as soon as he’d woken up from that hellish dream and carried through the entire morning. He needed to see Marinette, make sure she was ok. Something had happened to her, or something was going to happen, and he needed to be there to protect her. His leg bounced all through class until the end of the day, and then he was sprinting towards Francois-Dupont.

He arrived just in time to watch Lila brutally destroy the girl of his dreams.

“It’s your fault Adrien’s like this! You’re the reason the entire class has been akumatized! You’re nothing but a bully! You don’t support Alya’s journalism, Nino’s music, you hate Chloe for some reason, Nathaniel got akumatized because you never noticed he was head-over-heels for him! You’re stuck in your perfect world and we’re all suffering for it! Get a grip Dupain-Cheng! The world doesn’t revolve around you!”

Whatever had brought on the attack was none of his concern. Neither he nor Adrien saw the black butterfly land between them as they jumped to Marinette’s sides. Nor did they see the rest of the class staring in shock at Lila’s newest, boldest, most obvious lie.

“Hello Protecoeur~”

“Marinette, watch out!” Alya shrieked, diving in front of her best friend as the akuma took form. It had two faces, a giant cavity in the shape of a heart in its chest, and a burning hatred for one Lila Rossi.

The girl in question was already halfway down the stairs when Protecoeur spoke. “Alya Cesaire, you have proven yourself a worthy protector. Join us in our quest!” A beam of teal light shot out, transforming Alya into a smaller, armored knight with a heart sigil on her breastplate. Marinette was looking at the akuma with more loathing than anyone thought possible from such a sweet girl. 

Another Weredad? Really Hawkmoth? She took a deep breath and prepared to run. Alya had taken off after Lila, and most of the rest of the class had scattered. 

The akuma knelt down to place a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, we swear to be your loyal guardian as long as you will have us.”

Maybe she could talk this one down? She didn’t actually know who this akuma was. It was clearly two people, but she’d been so focused on Lila’s sudden outburst that she hadn’t seen which. 

“How are you going to protect me from Hawkmoth if you’re working with him?”

“Hawkmoth gave us the power to protect you.”

“But when he gets the miraculous he’s just going to take it back. He’s not going to power you forever.”

The eyes on both faces tried to look at each other. Clearly they hadn’t thought that far ahead. 

The half second of confusion was all Marinette needed. She clambered back up the school’s steps and inside, ducking into the first available room. Protecoeur let out a painful-sounding scream. Had Chat Noir cataclysmed them? Or was it something else?

No time to wonder. 

“Tikki, transform me!” 

Her transformation had barely finished when Protecoeur slammed through the door.

“Where is Marinette?”

“She’s safe. She’s hiding from you two. You can’t really protect her if she’s scared of you, can you?” Ladybug raised an eyebrow. This akuma didn’t really seem bent on hurting anyone, Lila notwithstanding.

“You’re protecting her?”

“Yes. From Hawkmoth. And that means I need to de-akumatize you two. Do you remember who you were before this?”

The akuma got a pained expression on its face and it seemed to Marinette that the two faces seemed to separate a little bit. 

“I think… my name was Luka?”

“I was… Adrien?”

Fuck shit fuck fuck shit fuck SHIT. OF COURSE it would be two of them! Ladybug froze for a second.

“Protecoeur, take her Miraculous! She cannot protect this Marinette how you can!” 

“Fight it off, both of you! Work together! Marinette doesn’t want this!” 

The boys growled as Hawkmoth induced a headache on them. The faces fused back together as they lashed out at Ladybug.

“Make it stop!”

“You have to fight him!”

They let out a singular shriek and she knew she wouldn’t be able to talk them out of this. Well… at the very least she could work out her negative emotions? She was still kinda mad at Adrien for the whole ‘don’t try to save your friends from being abused by a pathological liar,’ but he’d been better lately.

Ladybug jumped out of the window and into the streets, barely swinging up in time to not get blasted with shrapnel from the wall.

Was it just her imagination, or was this akuma crying?

“We have to protect her!”

“From what?!”

“LILA!” 

The akuma turned on a dime, taking off for who Ladybug could only assume was Lila Rossi.

She tried to call Chat Noir while she gave chase, but he wasn’t picking up. 

As if on cue, a small black blob appeared next to her.

“Where’s Chat Noir?”

“He’s in a therapy session, Master Fu said they were not to be disturbed! It’s you and me today, Ladybug.” 

“See if you can’t figure out where the akuma is, I’ve got to make sure this thing doesn’t hurt Lila!”

“Aww, do you have to? She’s got it coming for her.” Plagg whined before taking off. 

Plagg took off, careful to stay out of Adrien’s line of sight. He didn’t know if they shared vision, so he tried to stay away from Luka’s face as well. The only thing he could think that both boys had in common when they were akumatized was a bookbag, but the akuma didn’t have anything on its back. 

“I don’t know where it is kid!”

“Great, looks like we’ll just have to start smashing then! Remind me, how much control do you have over your cataclysm?”

“Absolutely none!” Plagg looked simultaneously proud and worried. Did Ladybug want him to cataclysm the akuma? He and Adrien had experienced that once, and he wasn’t about to make the kid go through it again. 

Everything had been going so well! Lila had seen Luka, started yelling, and an akuma had appeared! But the class hadn’t turned on Marinette like she’d hoped, and now she was being chased by another akuma! And she’d thought Hawkmoth was starting to like her…

Alya had trapped Lila inside of a small shop a few blocks from school, and now they were playing a waiting game. Alya wouldn’t come inside and take her by force, and there was no way she was leaving of her own will. She would’ve loved to, but there was no other exit. So, she spent her time trying to get Alya on her side.

“Why do you care about Dupain-Cheng so much anyway? She’s not even your friend!”

“She’s not my friend. She’s my best friend. A better one than you’ve ever been.” 

“Alya, how could you say that? I’ve been nothing but supportive since we met!” 

“You’ve lied to me and everyone else for the last time, Rossi. Your ride is here.”

Alya stepped to the side as Protecoeur ran full-speed into the glass windows, scooped up Lila, and placed her inside the container in their chest. 

“Excellent. Now, get me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”

Protecoeur stood still amidst shards of glass and broken drywall. They were at an impasse. One half was all in favor, and the other was completely against. So, they sat and waited. Lila was banging on the inside of the heart demanding she be released.

Alya had no such qualms, so when Ladybug finally caught up, she engaged her in a fight to buy time for Protecoeur to come to a decision. While they were fighting, Plagg figured out why there wasn’t a physical backpack.

“Ladybug, their heart! The akuma is in their heart!” 

“Go break it! While they’re immobilized!” Ladybug launched Alya a clean twenty meters into the air and two blocks over. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt them…”

Marinette cursed at herself. She’d forgotten Lila was inside. 

“Plagg, get in there and warn Lila I’m about to punch their heart in!” 

She didn’t give Plagg time to react, launching herself. The kwami was just a second faster and Lila pressed herself into the walls of her cage. She may hate Ladybug, but she wasn’t about to get cut to ribbons over it. 

There was an audible thunk as Marinette’s fist connected with the heart. But nothing cracked. 

“It’s too strong…. Lucky Charm!” 

Tikki wasn’t playing around. She conjured a sledgehammer. 

That punch had been enough to shake whatever was keeping Protecoeur immobile, though. They rounded on her, grabbing the sledgehammer and throwing it into the back wall of the shop.

“Plagg, now would be a good time for that cataclysm!” Ladybug dodged as Protecoeur fired a chunk of glass at her. 

“I could kill them!”

“Figure something out!”

Plagg was panicking. He had to get that sledgehammer to Ladybug, and fast. 

“Ladybug, get out of the building!”

“What are you-?”

“CATACLYSM!”

Plagg pushed his paw firmly into the ceiling, showering Protecoeur with rubble before the entire building collapsed on top of them.

“Plagg? Plagg!” Ladybug dove over the crumbled building where the tiny god was trying to pull her hammer out of the pile.

“Hurry, the ground is going to collapse!”

Flapping out of the rubble was a tiny black and purple butterfly.

“Forget the hammer kid, the building broke it! Catch the akuma!” The ground was starting to crack as Ladybug lined up her shot. Her yoyo closed around the butterfly, and then they were all falling. 

The akuma and Lila were unconscious, but safe. Ladybug caught her hammer as they fell and threw it up with all her remaining strength. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We can go little a feral. As a treat.

When Ladybug opened her eyes, she was laying on the ground of the shop Plagg had collapsed not moments before. 

Lila, Luka, Adrien, and Alya were all on the ground around her, looking around in confusion. 

“Ladybug!” Adrien was at her side in an instant. “Are you ok? What happened?”

“You and Luka were akumatized. I have to go, I’m about to transform back. Thanks for the help Plagg. Go find Chat Noir and tell him everything’s taken care of, and I’m glad he’s getting therapy. Bien joue.” Ladybug gave the kwami a tiny fist bump and trudged out of the storefront.

She detransformed inside the room she’s first hidden in to transform. Tikki laid in her hand to eat, too tired to float.

“Never. Again. Marinette. I don’t care what you have to do, Lila has to leave.” She panted out between bites.

Marinette sighed and laid back against the wall. “What am I gonna do Tikki?”

“About Lila?”

“About Adrien and Luka! I’m just going to tell Lila’s mother about all the shit she’s pulled. That’s easy. Screw Adrien’s high road, I’m sick of it. It’s time to play dirty.” Her limbs shook slightly as she pushed herself off the ground. “Let’s go. We have a house call to make.”

“Oh, Marinette, before we go, I made something for you. It’s on your phone.”

Tikki had spent her spare time compiling and analyzing every lie Lila had ever told, complete with audio recordings.

“How did you?”

“I’m the kwami of creation, Marinette. They’re forged. I didn’t think to record anything while it was happening, but I do remember everything she’s ever said. Are you going as Marinette or as--”

“Ladybug. We’re going as Ladybug. I don’t want to give Lila the option to call this a cat fight. Thank you, Tikki.”

Fully charged again, Ladybug swooped over the city to the Rossi residence. Her mother was home, wondering where Lila was. Ladybug showing up made her worry.

“Is my daughter ok?”

“She’s safe, but we need to talk. In private.”

Over the course of the next hour Ladybug exposed every lie Lila had told her class and her mother, complete with video evidence and calls to M. Damocles and Mlle. Bustier. Lila, conveniently, wasn’t answering her phone.

“I’m not telling you what to do, but if she were my daughter, I would sign her up--”

“Oh, she’s GOING to therapy. She’ll be going to a private school where everyone can keep an eye on her. I am so sorry you’ve all had to deal with this, I had no idea--”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for. I can already tell you’re a wonderful mother, just from our conversation. It’s not your fault. Lila’s an expert manipulator. I just… thank you, for listening to me. I hope this doesn’t change your view of me too much.”

“You changed my view of you from an incompetent hero-wannabe to the most caring girl I’ve ever met. I would say that’s a pretty significant change.” Mme. Rossi smiled fondly at the girl. “Now get going, I’m sure your mother is worried about you too.”

Ladybug swung through the school window silently. She was tired, but happy. Marinette exited her hiding place to Adrien and Luka, pacing around the central gym floor.

“Oh thank fuck.” Her breath left her as she ran to the two boys, crushing them to her in a super-powered hug.

Luka lifted both her and Adrien off the ground. “I’m so sorry Marinette, we just heard her saying all that stuff and we-”

“Shut up, both of you, and let me hug you.” 

They didn’t move for a while.

Eventually, Marinette let them both out of her death grip. “Is Alya ok?”

“She’s fine. She said she texted you, but she couldn’t stick around. Where were you hiding?”

“In that back room. I stayed in there until I saw you two pacing from under the door.”

At that, the boys looked at each other nervously. “We have… something to tell you.”

“So do I. You guys can go first.”

They took a deep breath before speaking at the same time.

“We both like you.”

Marinette blinked a few times, processing that info. “Well that makes what I was gonna say a lot easier. I like you both too.”

It was the boys’ turn to blink in surprise. 

“Both?” Adrien looked confused.

“Yeah. Both.” 

“So… what are we all gonna do about it?” Luka crossed his arms, looking between the freshmen.

Marinette flushed. “Um… there’s one more thing I should mention. I… I was planning to ask you both out on one date, to gauge my feelings. And then I was going to decide. And if I couldn’t… I was just going to stay single. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you if I still had feelings for the other person.”

“That’s very noble of you, Marinette.” Luka smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. Adrien had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Luka was smooth, that was for sure.

Just meant Adrien had to step up his game. “So you’ve gone on your date with Luka, but not me yet.” He winked. 

“True…” Marinette nodded. “I didn’t know how to ask you without hurting Luka’s feelings. I care about him, too.”

“Then let’s ask.” Adrien turned to Luka with the biggest shit-eating grin. “Luka Couffaine, do I have permission to take Marinette out on a date?”

“You should be asking her, not me.” He retorted, calm and collected as ever. Adrien took it in stride.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?”

Some part of Luka was immeasurably saddened when she said yes. He knew it was unrealistic to expect her to turn him down, after everything that had just been revealed between the three of them, but it still stung. He would just have to hope that whatever happened on that date wasn’t enough to eclipse her feelings for him.

“Do you guys… want to just hang out for a while? As friends?” She looked up shyly at Luka, and her eyes were so full of hope that he felt all traces of fear leave him. A look like that meant she wasn’t gone yet.

“I think that would be nice.”

“Yeah. Me too.” 

The boys took up position on either side of Marinette and led her out of the building, still wary for any trace of brown hair or green eyes. They wouldn’t get akumatized over it again, but… it never hurt to be cautious, did it?

They all settled on going out to eat when Marinette mentioned feeling hungry. Being Ladybug usually wasn’t this taxing, but this battle specifically had taken a big toll on her. They stopped at an American restaurant where they knew the portions would be huge. Adrien said he’d pay, so everyone could fill up.

Mari got a giant amount of food, more than either boy thought they could eat in a whole day, let alone one sitting. And she ate all of it before either of them finished their meals, then ordered dessert. They all shared a giant brownie with ice cream. Or, rather, Marinette ate most of it and the boys snuck a bite here or there while she was talking about everything that had happened with Lila. The boys had heard bits and pieces from the class, but never the full story from Marinette. It was a lot to take in, and by the end neither felt as bad about being akumatized over her. From what they’d found online from random Parisians posting their recordings of the fight, Ladybug had crushed them and Lila under an entire building. No one was entirely sure how, but Adrien would’ve recognized Plagg’s cataclysm anywhere. He’d have to thank the tiny god tonight.

“Do you want either of us to walk you home? You look tired.” Luka took her hand gently. She looked better than before, but the exhaustion was plain to see.

“I’ll be alright. Thank you, though. I’ll text you both when I get home.” She held up her phone. “And thanks for paying, Adrien.”

“Of course. Stay safe, Marinette.” He got up to give her a goodbye hug.

She got home just fine and made sure to message the boys before nodding off to sleep.

Lila didn’t come to school the next day. Or the next. Or the next. Everyone was asking Marinette what happened, and although she certainly knew, she couldn’t tell. So, she made up a convenient lie. Well, a half-truth. 

“Maybe that last akuma scared her off?”

“I saw the footage of the building going down, it was terrifying!” Nino pulled up the video to show the rest of the class.

They all nodded among themselves. She’d probably figured out that her lies were finally turning out to be more trouble than they were worth and shipped off to go torment someone else. 

Ms. Bustier walked in looking heartbroken and holding a note to her chest. 

“Class… I have some bad news. Lila Rossi will no longer be attending our school. Her mother informed me of the decision this morning.”

Half of the class had to suppress their glee, but the other sensed that something was off. Marinette was of the former group, glad that Mme Rossi had taken her words to heart. 

She texted Luka the good news.

It wasn’t until lunch that anyone mentioned that this could be another one of Lila’s lies, punching a hole into her good mood.

“Do you really think she’d be able to?”

“She made her mother think Ladybug and Chat Noir were incompetent and that the school was closed for months. This… seems almost too easy. I don’t buy it.” Alix shook her head, hands steepled like she was delivering an important talk at a conference. “There’s no way she would give up like that either. If her mom really did pull her out of school, she’s just going to be coming after you harder. Be careful, Marinette.”

Alya squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Even if Lila does come after you, we’ve all got your back. We can find her new school, warn everyone there, make sure nothing happens. If she wants to start a war, we’ll give her one. A really, really uneven one. And I bet if we tried hard enough, Ladybug and Chat Noir would help too.”

Adrien looked around the table, realizing he had to do something. “We can’t go after her with the heroes. A public callout is going to get her akumatized ridiculously fast, and she’ll be out for Marinette specifically. That’s too dangerous. I’m not saying we let her get away with it at her new school, but we need to go about it more sneakily.”

Marinette was glad to hear Adrien off of his ‘high road’ schtick, and even gladder to hear him keep everyone off the low road. This was a good middle. Make people aware without Lila ever knowing.

“Oh yeah, Alya, don’t you still have that video of her on the Ladyblog?” Mylene asked from further down the table.

She pulled out her phone to check. It was down quite a ways, but still there. “Yeah. I should delete it, shouldn’t I?” It wasn’t her most popular post by a long shot, but people would probably still notice its disappearance. “What do I tell them? If I call her out on the Ladyblog there’s going to be an uproar.”

“You could say it’s to protect her and Ladybug. That’s she’s been akumatized four times since it came out. That’s the most out of anyone, right? Except M. Pigeon.” Marinette and Adrien shuddered when Nathaniel said his name. The fights weren’t even hard! They were just a nuisance! 

“That’s a good idea Nath! I’ll draft the post now.” Alya’s face lit up as she conveniently destroyed the post that had cemented Lila’s reign of terror. “Done and done!”

Marinette’s phone started buzzing about a minute later. Luka was calling.

“Hey, what’s up? You’re on speaker.” She mouthed ‘Luka’ to everyone at the table.

His voice came through at a strained whisper. “Hey guys. Would anyone happen to know why Lila’s in my cafeteria?” 

The class froze.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The miracuclass might not have any braincells, but Luka doesn't go there. Muahaha.

Adrien spoke first. “Class trip?”

“How are we going to get out? Bustier’s not just gonna let us skip.”

“Yeah, Mendeliev would kill us if we missed chemistry!”

“We’re not gonna be long, just a quick run there and back!”

“There’s like ten minutes left of lunch Adrien.”

Marinette looked like she was about to throw up. She grabbed the phone and switched it off of speaker. “Luka, you need to warn everyone about her. The same way Juleka told you. She can’t know that they know or she’s going to flip. Are you safe?”

“She’s coming over, I’ll tell you everything later.”

“Good luck. Be safe.”

“You too.”

The phone went dead and she let out a breath she’s just realized she’d been holding ever since she heard Lila’s name. She couldn’t catch a break, could she?

“Hey, are you okay?” Adrien put a hand on her back.

“She’s going to hurt him. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but she’s going to hurt him.”

“Deep breaths Marinette. Luka already knows what she’s like. He’ll be able to defend himself. You can’t help him if you’re akumatized, and we still have to finish class. Just hold out until it’s over, then we can go find him.”

“But if we all show up together she’s going to know.”

“Not if we make it seem like we’re worried about her. We’ll all go distract her, ask her why she left, if she’s okay, stuff like that. You can run in and get Luka.”

She took a shaky breath and nodded, hugging Adrien. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“Wait, Adrien, did you tell Kagami? I don’t want her getting caught up in this either. Especially after Oni-Chan.” Her grip tightened around his shoulders. 

“I haven’t yet. Do you want to, or should I?”

“I’ll tell her. Can you tell her to meet us at Luka’s school?”

“I can try.” He smiled, pulling out his phone. “Here’s her number, too.”

“Thanks.” Marinette punched it in lightning fast. She and Kagami had gotten off on a bad start, and she probably wouldn’t want to take an invitation directly, but Marinette wanted to protect the fencer from Lila all the same. No one deserved to be abused by her lies.

The rest of the day passed too slow and too fast.

Lila slid into the seat across from Luka with a sugary-sweet grin as he ended his call. She already knew he hated her. He was akumatized with Adrien over it, so there was no guessing. But her plan no longer hinged on making him like her. It hinged on a little rumor she’d heard online after she’d failed Hawkmoth again as Envivre. How to bring it up, though…

“Whatever you want, I’m not interested.” 

“Oh, I think you will be soon.”

That saccharine grin made his insides roil and he wondered if Adrien would consent to becoming Protecoeur again just so they would have an excuse to fight her. He watched Lila rummage around her bag and wondered how someone like her lived with herself.

Lila pulled out her phone with a triumphant flourish and opened it to a blog dedicated to solving Ladybug’s identity. The top post was a shaky video of Ladybug carrying Marinette away from the fight with the caption ‘Fox Illusion?’

“You know Marinette’s Ladybug, I know Marinette’s Ladybug, and you’re going to do exactly what I say or I’m going to expose her.”

Lila didn’t count on him bursting into laughter.

“Oh wow, Mari said you were a terrible liar but this? This is too much. Hoo-boy, wait ‘til everyone hears you’re on that crack theory.” He snickered and gathered his things to head to class. “I know you’re new here, and you think you can treat this school like Francois-Dupont. Don’t. It won’t end well.” 

The sound of 15 high schoolers sprinting down the street was more than enough to catch everyone’s attention. A few yelled to the class as they went by, but no one cared or had the time to answer them. They were on a mission.

The last bell rang just as they hit the corner, and if they were sprinting before it was even faster now. All the high schoolers streaming out of the building stopped as they saw the class’ approach. Some of them yelled when they recognized one of the students.

“Where’s Lila?” Alya yelled in her best concerned-friend voice.

“Who?”

“The new girl!” Five other students yelled back. They all came to stop in front of the now-fairly-large group of teens. 

“Lila Rossi, brown hair, green eyes, usually has an orange jacket on?” Alya grabbed one of her friends from the crowd, begging with her eyes.

“Oh, they’re talking about conspiracy theorist!” A girl with brown, green, and purple hair called out from somewhere in the middle. A collective ‘ooooooooh’ came up from the students.

“She’s inside somewhere!”

“I think she was with Luka?”

“I have physics with her!”

The isolated voices turned into complete chaos as everyone started talking about the ‘new girl.’ Marinette grabbed Adrien and Alya and yelled for the rest of the class to follow her. They pushed all the way to the door before Adrien stopped her. 

“Get in the middle so she doesn’t see you!”

“Got it!” She disappeared behind Ivan while Kim and Chloe took up position on either side of her. The girls shared a moment of understanding before busting through the door. 

It was almost empty inside, save for a few students sitting around the front lobby waiting for rides or friends.

“Text him Dupain-Cheng, you’re our best bet.” Chloe whispered over her shoulder. 

‘Where are you?’

‘Second floor. She’s got me trapped inside the music room. Don’t. Let. Her. See. You.’

“Who ya texting? Ladybug?” Lila laughed, leaning against the door.

“Actually, Juleka. Apparently the whole class came down to see you. She says they missed you.” Luka slid his phone into his pocket and crossed him arms. “Can I leave now?”

“Mmm, I don’t think so. You may not believe that Marinette is Ladybug, but it makes sense doesn’t it? She always disappears during akuma attacks.”

“Lila, if Marinette was an illusion from the Fox Miraculous then Ladybug wouldn’t have been able to touch her.”

“They look awfully similar. Does Marinette have any cousins in the city?” Her eyes glittered. She knew he was starting to crack. And all she needed right now was time. Time to think of another way to threaten Marinette that would get him to pay attention.

Her mom was making this way more difficult than it usually was. If she hadn’t figured her out, then all Lila would have to do was claim Marinette had bullied her out of the school. If she hadn’t figured her out, actually, Lila wouldn’t have changed schools at all.

She heard footsteps down the hall and slunk away from the door to sit on a desk, starting a high laugh as the door opened. “Oh Luka, you’re so funny. Thinking Marinette is Ladybug! She’s so clumsy, it’s adorable!”

“Lila!” Alya ran up to her and crushed her in a hug, giving Luka time to escape. Marinette grabbed him, nodded to everyone else, and booked it outside.

“You didn’t tell us you were leaving!” Rose turned on her fake tears and joined the group hug.

Time to work her magic. “Oh, yeah, my mental health was suffering. You know how it is, depression and anxiety and all that.” Lila gave them a tired smile. 

“You could have come to us first!” Chloe scoffed. “Juleka’s had depression since forever!”

Juleka shot Chloe a glare, then turned back to Lila. “I could’ve helped you work through it. Rose actually helps me a lot.”

“Oh, but I didn’t want to burden you! You’ve all been so sweet to me, it would be wrong to take advantage like that.” She sniffed.

Max was glad to finally have a use for that graph he’d made in 8th grade. “There is a direct correlation between support systems and recovery from depression.” 

Luka jerked Marinette back away from the doors, startling her. “Ow, Luka, what the hell?”

“The windows. She’ll see us, and know you’re here.”

Her breath caught ever so slightly. “Shit, you’re right. We need to find somewhere to hide. You can tell me what happened while we walk.”

He nodded and started leading her to the theater. Even if there were kids in there, they’d be on stage or making out in the back rows. No one would ever notice them.

“She brought up that one conspiracy page about you being Ladybug and tried to blackmail me with it. She said I’d have to do whatever she wanted or she would “expose” you. It was hilarious at the time, but I think she’s serious. Since she knows that angle won’t work, though, I think she’s going to try to find a new one. Is there anything she knows about that she could use against you? School, work, friends, anything?”

Marinette was in full panic mode, but her Ladybug side took over at the mention of a threat to her identity. 

“From top to bottom? My grades and attendance have been slipping a little, there was a scandal at the bakery a few years ago when someone didn’t tell us they were allergic to almonds, as far as friends she would probably have to go after Alya and the Ladyblog or Adrien, maybe even Kagami, before they all knew she was a liar they probably told her things they wouldn’t want getting out, but no one’s said anything to me so I’m not sure, please please please tell me you didn’t tell her anything Luka. Luka?” 

He was breathing a little heavy, picking up on the nervousness in her tone. It went away quick enough, but Marinette made a note to try to keep her emotions under control around him. He always seemed to know what she was feeling. She didn’t want it affecting his state of mind.

“I’m good, I’m good. You’re really worried about them, aren’t you?”

“Always.”

“Okay. I didn’t tell her anything she could use against me, about you or anyone else. I don’t have a whole lot of close friends she could turn against me, either. Most of the people in this school at least know me, and a lot more would consider me a friend. I started telling them right after lunch, but I don’t know how far it’s spread.”

“Oh thank god.” She deflated against him and he wrapped his arms around her. 

“Everyone should know by tomorrow, and I told them all to be nice, but apparently she’s started her own problems by trying to convince other people who didn’t know about her that you’re Ladybug. I heard people calling her ‘conspiracy theorist’ in my last period.”

“Wait, really?” Marinette gave a weak laugh. “Oh my god, that’s actually funny. You might not have to warn everyone if they already think she’s insane.”

“Yeah, and I heard from some other students that she has to have daily meetings with the guidance counselor. I don’t think she’ll be able to do as much damage as we thought.”

“That’s such a relief.” 

He held her a bit longer before his phone went off. Juleka was texting him to let both of them know that a few of the girls were walking Lila home and that they should be safe wherever they’d gone off to hide.

“Juleka says all clear. You good to go?”

She nodded into his chest.

“Nnnnoooo, you’re still worried about something. Come on Marinette, you know you can tell me anything.” He brushed the back of his hand over her face, sweeping away some stray bangs.

She sighed the tiniest little sigh he’d ever heard and it broke his heart. “She’s never going to stop, is she?”

He breathed out slowly. She sounded defeated and tired, like all that running had finally caught up to her. “Maybe, maybe not. But we’re all behind you, so you don’t have to face her alone. You’re never alone, Marinette. Never.” He gave her a soft kiss. Just a fraction of a second. He knew she was still on the fence, but she looked so small right and scared and he’d promised himself he would do whatever it took to make her happy.

She was smiling as they broke apart, so he didn’t even feel bad. Sure, she was going on a date with his romantic rival, but he would still be doing what he could from the sidelines. Not for his benefit, of course, but for hers. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O O F I almost posted this as a chunk of text with no breaks, thank goodness I caught the formatting

“So, how’s class without me?” Lila asked, arms linked with Alya and Rose.

“Super boring. We thought you were sick, and everyone was just worried all the time because you weren’t answering texts.” Alix could lie when she needed to.

Lila looked genuinely surprised. “Wait, you guys texted me?” 

“Girl, haven’t you been checking your phone?”

“We texted you the first day you didn’t show up.”

Alya and Juleka picked up the lie and started rolling with it. Lila was flabbergasted. Had her mother somehow managed to block incoming texts? These idiots were too stupid to see through her without being told, so it was unlikely they were lying.

“Weird, haha! I guess they just didn’t go through…” Lila thumbed her phone nervously. Her mom had been furious when she got home. Not the hot, angry furious where she would scream and break things, but the cold, calculated furious that had her researching psychiatrists when Lila had gotten home. That had her reading through the entire Ladyblog, finding everything she could about Paris’ superheroes and seeing every single video from every single person who’d caught the tiniest snippet of an akumatization. That had her watching and saving all of Lila’s akumatizations in a folder to send to whichever psychiatrist she ended up picking.

Right around a block away Lila bid everyone good-bye, saying she could go the rest of the way herself and that it was good seeing everyone. No one fought to walk her the rest of the way. They knew Mme. Rossi would question why they were hanging out with her daughter. So, they let her go. Just to be extra safe, they chatted the whole way back to Francois-Dupont. Everyone had agreed to meet up back there when they had separated the first time.

“I’m telling Dupain-Cheng to grab her boyfriend and bring him back with her.” Chloe commented from the back of the classroom. 

Adrien made a choking noise. 

She was sitting on a high desk so she could address everyone once the battle plan was made. If someone was going to help Marinette take down Lila, it was going to be Queen Bee herself. Well… ex-Queen Bee. Ladybug had said she needed to talk to Chloe soon about something sensitive, though, so she was holding out hope.

Marinette and Luka were waiting at the front steps with a very pissed-looking Kagami.

“Where is Adrien?”

“He’s probably back at school.”

“Then I’m leaving.”

“No, please, I asked him to call you here. There’s something we need to talk about.”

“What are your intentions with him?”

“My… what?”

“What are your intentions with Adrien Agreste? You’ve been leading him on for over a year now and I don’t like watching my friends be hurt.”

“Kagami… no. He had a crush on Ladybug, not Marinette.” Luka chuckled softly. Kagami’s pupils blew wide.

“Besides, I’m not here to talk about some petty fight over a boy. I’m trying to warn you about Lila.” Marinette stood up off the steps so she wasn’t staring up at her the whole time.

“The girl who kissed him?”

“Yes, her.”

“I hate her.”

“We all do. You need to know she’s a manipulator and a liar, and she’s targeting me specifically.”

“How is that my concern.”

“Because Adrien is one of my friends, and you’re his friend, so you’re in danger by extension. If she thinks she can use you to hurt Adrien, and in turn hurt me, she’s going to come after you. I know we didn’t get along at the start, and I’m pretty sure you still don’t like me, but I want you to stay safe. She’s incredibly dangerous. You don’t deserve to get wrapped up in this, but in case she comes around, you need to be prepared.”

Both girls’ phones went off at the same time.

“Adrien says to bring both of you to Francois-Dupont.”

“Chloe says the same thing.”

“Is she in on this too? I thought you two hated each other.”

“We… we do. But we’re going to work together, because Lila is worse.” Marinette wasn’t about to admit that Chloe had started growing and had even sent a small apology to her over text a while back. Come to think of it, it was almost immediately after she’d told her that her time as Queen Bee was over. The apology had been halting and stilted, but it was a start. 

Kagami took a deep breath and centered herself the way she would before a difficult fencing match. “Okay. I will come with. Thank you for warning me, Marinette. If she is as bad as you day, this will be a great advantage.” 

She held her arm out for a handshake. Marinette accepted it gracefully. 

Kagami wondered how someone with that much strength and control behind a simple handshake could possibly be so clumsy.

The trio moved quickly back to Dupont. Not as fast as ‘The Class Sprint,’ but they weren’t going to take their time either. Kagami set a quick pace and wasn’t planning on slowing down for anyone or anything.

“She’s very… interesting.” Luka whispered in Marinette’s ear as they ran.

“Adrien says she’s really nice if you get to know her.” She murmured back.

By the time they reached the classroom, it was almost filled to the brim with other students. Marinette had to weave her way to the front to sit up by Chloe on a desk.

“Alright everyone, sit down and shut up! We have business to discuss.” Chloe commanded the room, then turned to Marinette. “Alright Dupain-Cheng, what’s your plan to take this bitch down?”

Marinette flushed bright pink. “I-I don’t really have a plan aside from making sure people are aware of her. She’s the only person who’s ever remembered what happened during an akumatization, so I think she might be actively working with Hawkmoth.”

A soft gasp came up from the entire room. 

“She hates Ladybug, too, from what I’ve heard.”

“I can confirm that.” Adrien piped up from the back. Kagami and Luka had settled close to him.

“Yeah, so she hates me and Ladybug and might be working with Hawkmoth. So if we go after her… she’ll definitely get akumatized, but I feel like it would only get worse.”

“What if we isolate her?” Kagami questioned. 

“How?” Chloe retorted immediately. 

The other girl grimaced before answering. “The more people who know she is untrustworthy, the harder time she will have taking advantage of people. We need to blacklist her. I can handle informing my school. They just need to tell their parents, and it will start to spread.” Kagami stood like she was prepared to leave.

“Wait, Kagami, please.” Marinette called out. “If she learns what we’re doing, she’s going to lash out directly. We can’t let her know, and the whole point of this meeting is to come up with a sneaky way or ways to stop her from hurting more people.”

Kagami furrowed her brow. This all stank of secrecy and more lies, and she hated both of those things. But she could understand why they were taking this route. Having an invisible advantage was, well… advantageous. So she sat back down.

“We can’t go about it randomly. We need to strategize who we tell. They’re going to have to know or at least have heard of Lila, and they need to have some connections.” Marc murmured near the front.

That gave Mari an idea. “Chloe… could you tell your dad there’s a girl trying to manipulate her way into higher circles by lying about herself? He could warn all your clients, and then she really would be blacklisted.”

“Not bad Dupain-Cheng.” The blonde nodded, taking out her phone. “And I can tell mommy too!”

“Should I tell my father?” Adrien asked.

“Nonsense Adrikins, my mother will tell him.” Chloe waved her hand down at him.

Marinette looked around the room as everyone stared at her expectantly. They wanted something from her. Probably a plan, but she’d already said her only idea was to keep doing low-level alerts and trusting it would fan out from there.

So… why was everyone just staring at her like that?

Nathaniel noticed her looking around and voiced the group’s unspoken question. “Mari, we want to hear from you everything Lila did. We trust you when you say she’s bad, but we’re really curious what actually happened?”

Mari looked at all the girls in the class. She’d told them almost everything, but apparently they hadn’t passed on that knowledge to the people they’d all told.

“O-oh, um, well…” She took a deep breath, mentally going over her checklist of injustices. 

“She lied about saving Jagged’s cat, and I know Jagged because I designed a cover and those sunglasses for him, and it made me angry because I really look up to him, y’know?” She started. 

“And she lied about going to Achu, that was obvious from the live-chat she did. There were no people in the streets, not even a bird, like nothing was moving at all! And then she lied to Nino about hooking him up with a big music producer, and to Alya about being friends with Ladybug, and the day she was akumatized into Chameleon she threatened me in the bathroom.”

A couple students’ eyes widened as they really tuned into her speech.

“She said I could choose to be her friend and help her deceive everyone, or I could be her enemy and she would turn everyone against me and make my life hell.” Marinette quieted down at the last admission, waiting for a reaction.

“She really is a sociopath.” Someone murmured. Upon closer inspection, it was Kagami. “Marinette, I make a vow here and now to help you take her down, for your safety and for all of Paris’.” She crossed her arm over her heart and gave the faintest smile to Marinette up front. She felt her cheeks warm slightly at the gesture. Maybe they could be friends. Real friends, after all of this was over.

“Thank you, Kagami.” 

“Same here.”

“You can count on me!”

“Me too!” 

A chorus of agreement rang out from the small crowd and Luka’s words in the theater sounded in her mind. 

She really wasn’t alone. All these people had come out to help her. Even if some were motivated purely by revenge, they still wanted to seek it by helping her and working as a unit.

The first official ‘Lila Meeting,’ as it would later be known, took about an hour. Lots of ideas for stopping her were presented, but in the end most were rejected as being too public and risky. If things escalated, maybe they would work. But right then and there, it was too much too fast. Marinette told everyone to simply warn their friends and the adults around them that would listen.

Her highest hopes rested on Mme. Rossi. If she was serious about keeping her daughter in line, they may never have to do anything other than this warning.

Lila slipped inside her house on tip-toe, immediately sprinting to her room and logging into her blog. She hadn’t been the one to start the rumor that Marinette was Ladybug, but her two mortal enemies being the same person was too much of a coincidence to ignore. In fact, she was almost positive she was right. No one had seen them in the same place until her most recent akumatization, and she already knew that the Fox Miraculous had illusion powers. It made too much sense. 

She started typing on the forum she’d shown Luka at lunch.

‘I wish to remain anonymous, but I am a former classmate of Marinette’s. From what I’ve observed over the past year, I am confident that I can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is, in fact, Ladybug. …’

She clicked the POST button with an immense feeling of satisfaction. Take that! And even if she was wrong, she would be making Marinette a target for akumas and forcing Ladybug to work even harder to protect her identity. Really, it was a win-win situation for her. If the creeps on the internet could do anything, it was turn this little theory into a worldwide sensation.

She closed the incognito tab and cleared her history, then went down for dinner. She’d have a meeting with her psychiatrist later tonight, and she needed to come up with plausible reasons for her behavior that wouldn’t lead anyone to her actual plans. 

Dupain-Cheng may have won this battle, but she was intent on winning the war.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lowkey running out of notes (O_O) have an old emoticon because i hate emojis

Marinette found the note from Chat Noir lodged in her trap door when she came home. He apologized for his behavior and said he understood if she didn’t want to forgive him, and that no matter what he would try to be better. 

‘...and some part of me really wanted it to be you, Princess. You’re both incredible women. Don’t let anyone sell you short. 

~Chat Noir’

She sighed and put it down on her desk. Tikki had read the note over her shoulder, but hadn’t commented on it. They would both have to think on it after patrol tonight.

Chat Noir took a deep breath as he crossed the next rooftop to meet Ladybug. She was definitely still mad at him, and he could see why.

She was waiting with a solemn expression on her face, and took off just as he landed. They ran in silence for an hour before he worked up his nerve. 

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“I know. I put both of you in danger over my feelings. I haven’t been a good partner. I haven’t even been a good friend.”

Ladybug slowed down and ducked into a public building they frequented for water breaks. He only started up again when they were back out of the public eye.

“I apologized to her as well, and Master is teaching me how to control my emotions better. I told her she didn’t have to forgive me, and you don’t either. I just hope you’ll still accept me as a partner.”

Ladybug bit her lip and stared straight ahead. “It was incredibly stupid, and I’m going to have to keep an eye on that Marinette girl, but you’re still my partner. I just… I need time. To think about everything. Thank you, for apologizing. It means a lot, Chaton.”

He let out his breath in a big rush. She didn’t hate him. She hadn’t forgiven him yet, but she didn’t hate him. 

They finished the patrol in a slightly more comfortable silence and fist-bumped like normal when they parted ways. He even thought he saw a small smile on her face. 

Master Fu was waiting for him when he got back.

“I hear you’re planning on taking Marinette out on a date, Adrien.”

“Y-yeah, is that alright?” His shoulders shot up to his ears in fear. 

Master Fu turned to look at Plagg. They shared a moment. “I know you will do what you think is best, but do not toy with her feelings. If you still feel as strongly as you do for Ladybug, then you will only be leading her on.”

“That’s… that’s actually what the date is about. I don’t know who I like more. And Marinette’s doing the same thing with me and Luka. We… we all talked about it.”

“Really?” Fu’s eyebrow quirked. “That’s very good, Adrien. I am glad you can be honest with your feelings around them. You didn’t tell them that your other crush was Ladybug, did you?”

“No, no! Of course not. I don’t think I told Marinette there was anyone else, just that I wanted to try a date with her, too.”

“You must remember, though: if you cannot find happiness in yourself, you will not be able to find it in others. Marinette’s love is not a substitute for facing your inner conflicts. You must find peace.”

“Do you think I shouldn’t do the date? Tell her that I’m taking time for myself?” Adrien looked like a lost puppy.

Fu sighed softly. “No, that would only make things worse. If you and Marinette truly click, tell her that before you make a commitment there are things you wish to work on in yourself.”

The rest of the evening they explored his feelings about Marinette and Ladybug, and eventually the conversation turned to his father. Neither he nor Fu were willing to talk about Emilie just yet. That was for much, much later. 

Marinette and Tikki both sighed as her transformation fell. “He’s really trying, Tikki.”

“Yeah…” 

Tikki was terrified for the date, in all honesty. Adrien may be getting help from Master Fu, but even that wasn’t enough to make her forget just how he’d treated her chosen since they’d met. Constant badgering, pouting, flirting, putting their lives and the city, no, the world in danger just because he thought he would be able to win her over. It was almost cute at the start, when she’d found out he was Adrien, Marinette’s long-time crush. Then the novelty of the situation wore off and she started realizing that if this was how he treated her now, it would only be worse if they actually did get together.

Thank kwami for Luka. At least there was someone Marinette could go to for all this that wasn’t Alya. She was great, but that girl wanted nothing more than to set up Ladybug and Chat Noir and Marinette and Adrien. 

Marinette breathed slowly as she started the homework for the night, occasionally looking over at Chat’s note. What would she do if he visited? Yell at him? Forgive him? Shut him out and pretend he didn’t exist? She needed to cover her identity, that was priority number one. But she wanted to give Chat a chance to explain himself to Marinette. He’d already told Ladybug what was going on, at least in part. She suspected there was a bit more to that ‘I wanted it to be you’ than he was letting on.

Whatever. She’d ask him about it if he ever showed up again.

Her phone buzzed just as she finished History. 

‘So, when do you wanna have that date ;)’

Her cheeks burned at the winky face staring up at her. “Tikki, can you pull down my schedule? Adrien wants to know when I’m free for our date.”

Tikki pulled down what had once been the Adrien-stalking schedule. They’d repurposed it after Jagged’s unwelcome intrusion. Pictures were one thing, but a completely mapped out schedule? No recovery. 

It had time set aside for school, crafting, “working out,” shifts at the bakery, and hard limits on when she wanted to be in bed every night. The only thing that would keep her up was an akuma nowadays. She used to stay up to work on commissions or homework or even personal projects, but Tikki had finally broken her of the habit when she’d almost fallen asleep during a fight. They’d been working on it ever since.

‘Would Sunday work? I’m free after 1’

‘Sounds great! I’ll pick you up then.’

Riding in the limo with Gorilla was always an unnerving experience for Marinette. It would probably be worse on the date. Hopefully her Ladybug side would take over and give her enough confidence to not make a fool of herself.

The rest of the week came and went, and Marinette’s biggest problem was dealing with people on the street asking if she was really Ladybug, if they were sisters, twins, cousins? Someone even asked if they were dating, and she almost laughed. What had caused the sudden change still eluded her, though. She’d thought that theory had sunk.

Adrien was the one who showed her the blog post. They were riding the limo to the theater. He’d heard her mention a new movie that was coming out and how she probably wouldn’t have time to see it in theaters. 

“Yeah, someone called ‘Unlucky’ posted it. And I’m betting I know who.”

Marinette read the post over again and laughed. Keep laughing and no one will take it seriously. “It’s got to be Lila. It’s quite a reach though, even for her.” 

“Yeah.” He laughed with her, but it sounded just a little off. Maybe she was being paranoid. “Even when her mom’s kicked her out of the school, she just can’t stop.”

“She’s desperate. Everyone here knows she’s a liar now, so she’s gone to the internet.” Her eyes rolled.

Adrien helped her out of the car like a perfect gentleman and took them inside the theater. The previews were just starting when they walked in, so there was still time to talk. 

“What do you want to do about it?”

“If we go public and denounce her she’s just going to freak out. Someone else needs to take her down. Someone she doesn’t know.”

Adrien tapped his chin for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. “I can handle it. I’ll make an anonymous account, just like she did, and take apart her claims. Do you remember where you were for every attack?”

“Absolutely.” Marinette nodded. She and Tikki had a list written into her diary. Every day there was an akuma attack, she would journal where she was, what emotions she was feeling, what she’d heard, seen, and felt throughout the whole attack. It was foolproof. Almost. She’d always made sure to write herself into places that were completely isolated. Usually, her locker. She would barricade herself in there and keep a piece of tape handy to prevent it from locking and trapping her completely inside. “I can send you the list tonight. But, uh, Adrien? You’re going to need to come up with a reason that you knew where I was hiding every time.”

“Well, I’m guessing you texted people to make sure they were safe, and to tell them that you were. So I can just say I asked around.” His head tilted a little when he smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe from Hawkmoth.” Their fingers laced together just as the movie started. 

Watching Marinette react to the movie was almost as great at actually watching it, Adrien decided. She was so animated about everything! I was an action documentary about Majestia, Alya’s favorite superheroine before Ladybug and Chat Noir had appeared. It was remarkably well done, with plenty of amateur footage from her fights. They’d brought in an American student who exclusively studied Majestia and laid out some of her most iconic moves step-by-step to the camera, demonstrating as they went. Subconsciously, Mari’s muscles flexed in time with the researcher.

When them movie was over, Adrien took her to lunch. She’d mentioned not having eaten since breakfast, and he’d been planning to take her to his mansion so they could just chill and play video games, but breaking his diet and potentially getting to see Marinette eat almost half her weight in food? It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. 

“What are you in the mood for?”

“Hmmm… take-out?”

“Perfect! Any special requests?”

“How about…. Greek?”

Adrien sent a message to Gorilla, sitting up front behind the glass partition. They grabbed the takeout before actually going to the mansion. Marinette probably would’ve screamed and made a complete fool of herself not even a month ago. Now, she was just in awe of how big and empty it seemed. 

“Does it get lonely up here?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I keep trying to get Father to let me have people over, but he says I have more than enough to keep me occupied. Video games are only so much fun when you’re constantly on single-player.” He laughed a little hollowly. 

“Well, then let’s see how good you really are. Bet I can still beat you at Mecha-Strike 3.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it. We’ll do one round, but then I wanna do something co-op!”

By nightfall they’d completed the entirety of Super Smash Bros Brawl’s Subspace Emissary campaign on the Wii. Mari had done most of the enemy fighting while Adrien worked on the puzzles. They’d laughed and talked the entire time, and Marinette got so excited after they beat Master Hand that she kissed him on the cheek. They’d both flushed and laughed it off, but the atmosphere had definitely changed. 

“Alright, what next?” Adrien was standing at one of his bookshelves, picking through rows and rows of games.

Marinette stared at his back blankly. 

“Mari?”

“Oh! Um… do you have any Kirby games?”

“You really like Kirby, don’t you?” Adrien laughed. She’d picked Kirby as much as possible for SSBB. 

“Yeah.” She chuckled. “I like being able to recover with all the extra jumps. Oh! Do you have Kirby Squeak Squad? I saw it got re-released on the Wii U! I used to play it all the time on my old DS.” 

“I think so… does it have multiplayer? I don’t remember much about it.”

“Yeah, me and Nino used to play together when he would come over.”

“That’s right, you two grew up together!” Adrien pulled out the game triumphantly. “What was he like when he was younger?”

The previous awkwardness was forgotten as they settled into the game. Mari told plenty of stories about Nino from when they were kids, and when they’d finished that game it was nearly dark out. 

“Oh, jeez, what time is it?”

“Like 7. Want me to take you home?”

“I promised maman I’d be home for dinner. But this was really nice. We should hang out more often, date or not.” 

Adrien flushed a light pink and smiled. “Yeah. I like hanging out with you too, Marinette.”

The ride home was quiet and comfortable. Marinette had a lot to think about, so it was nice that Adrien just let her be. 

“Have a good night Mari. Oh, and don’t forget about sending me that list.” He bent down and brushed his lips over her knuckles before getting back into the car. 

“Good night, Adrien. I won’t forget.” She murmured. They waved to each other as he pulled off the street.

Marinette pulled her diary out and was about to start typing the first text when Tikki zipped out of her purse. “How are you feeling, Marinette?”

“I… I think I’ve made a decision, Tikki.”

“Good. When are you going to tell them?”

“Mmm… soon. I think. I want a little more time to myself.” She murmured, a faint blush coloring her face. 

Tikki flipped the page for her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I forget the absolutely insane plot points I put in here. Like this stuff is really toeing the edge of crackfic (the current definition, not table x ronald mcdonald ((aka real)) crackfic)

Chloe gaped as Marinette and Adrien hugged right in front of her. When had they gotten that close? How dare Dupain-Cheng be all over her man like that! If it wasn’t for the Lila business, she would’ve destroyed her right then and there. She’d heard about the suspected blog post and had to have Adrien restrain her from making her own post criticizing Marinette for being the clumsiest, least-put-together person she’d ever met in favor of the plan her and Adrien had come up with.

She pulled Adrien aside before lunch and asked him about it as casually as she could.

“Oh, you didn’t hear? We had a date Sunday.” 

Chloe short-circuited. A date? A date???

“Does Kagami know?” She didn’t care about the other girl, but if it kept things from escalating then Chloe was all for using her.

“No. It’s not really her business. Or yours.” He said it gently enough, but Chloe only got more pissed. 

“Adrikins, of course it’s my business! We’re childhood best friends, you’re supposed to tell me everything!” 

“Chloe, you and I have kept secrets from each other ever since we met. Our parents made sure of that. I appreciate you wanting to look out for me, but we’re both 9th years now. We’ve changed. You’ll always be my friend, but I’m strong enough to do things on my own now. So are you. I’ve noticed you changing.” He smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Now come on, let’s go get lunch.”

Her face burned at the barbed praise. He knew exactly what he said would put her in a bind. She couldn’t fight Marinette without bringing down his disappointment and disapproval, and he’d already threatened to stop being her friend if she didn’t play nice. She’d been trying, she really had! But for Dupain-Cheng to go on a date with her best friend? All of her progress felt a bit wasted. 

Marinette pulled Chloe aside at lunch, figuring she should be the first to know. She’d looked furious at the hug and depressed at lunch. 

“Hey, Chloe.”

“What?” She spat. She looked like a wounded animal. “Come to rub it in?”

“Actually, I came to tell you I’m backing off. Completely. I think… I think I’m over him. He’s really sweet, but when I kissed his cheek last night… something had changed.”

Chloe’s pupils blew wide. “Have you told him?”

No jokes, no ‘I knew you weren’t good enough for him,’ no ‘I knew you weren’t really in love with him.’ It was like a completely different Chloe had shown up. 

“I don’t know how. He needs to hear it from me, though, so don’t tell him yet.”

“If you lead him on--”

There she was. “I won’t. Promise. And… thank you. For not freaking out on me.” 

They both looked over to where Adrien was sitting with Nino and Alya.

“He looked… happier. Especially when you hugged him. He’s used to people leaving him, Marinette. Be gentle. Try to stay friends. I’ll come after you if you don’t.”

“I want to be friends. With you, too, Chloe.”

She watched Marinette walk away to join everyone. Adrien’s smile lit up the room when she sat down, and Chloe’s gut wrenched. He hadn’t smiled like that since before…

Adrien had decided that night that he was fine whether Marinette wanted him or not. Ladybug, too. It would sting to be rejected, but Master Fu would help him through it. Slowly, he was learning to trust people again. And more importantly, to be happy by himself. So he smiled when Mari hugged him, smiled when she chose to sit by him, and smiled a little sadly when he got the text that night. 

‘I really like you, but I think…’

‘Luka?’

‘He’s incredible. Are you mad?’

‘Of course not! You’re both amazing people, and I’ve been meaning to tell you that I’ve kinda been wanting to take more time for myself lately.’

‘You’ve seemed a lot happier :) Friends still?’

‘Always. Did you see the post?’

‘It was incredible! You did a great job.’

‘Thanks! Ok, not a date, but do you wanna come over again some time? My dad has officially approved of you, and he said he wants to see more of your designs too. I showed him some of the stuff you’ve worked on. Hope that’s alright?’

‘Alright? That’s amazing! And I’m totally down for more video-game nights. We should invite Nino and Alya sometime too, so we can have a full team for the bigger games.’

‘Great! Night Marinette <3’

‘Night Adrien <3’

She’d been holding her breath the entire time they texted, and it all came out in a rush. 

“You did great! I’m so proud of you!”

“Yeah, but I still have to tell Luka.” Tikki hugged her cheek and giggled.

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”

“I hope so.” She breathed.

“Are you going to tell him tonight?”

“I want to tell him in person.”

Tikki buzzed happily around her face. “Oh Marinette, I’m so happy!” 

She flew in for another hug and a nuzzle. 

Luka was at an impasse. Lila stood on the shore right in front of the gangplank, and he desperately wanted to leave and run to Mari. But she’d given him an ultimatum: cut off all contact with Marinette, or she would destroy her. By destroying her friends. Lila had dug up everything Marinette had said, and then some. People had said some pretty cruel things before they knew Mari was telling the truth.

That wasn’t the worst bit, though. She had proof now. Undeniable proof that Ladybug was Marinette. 

A photo of her, mid-transformation, in her room. 

He had to think of a bluff, fast, but he couldn’t. He was just blanking. 

“How do I know you won’t post it anyways?”

“Well, you’ll just have to trust me, won’t you?”

“Why would I do that?”

He gripped his phone in his pocket and went off of years of muscle memory from texting his friends during class. 

‘emergency boat’

That was all he had time to type before Lila looked towards his pocket. “Nice try.”

“What do you want?”

“Well, cutting off Marinette was just for starters. I’m thinking that right when she’s about to break, she’s begging you to talk to her, something, anything!” She paused, dramatically lifting her hand to her face, “That’s when you tell her that you’re taken. By me.” Her eyes glinted. 

“No.”

“Oh? Want me to publish this now, then?”

His face turned deep red with rage. 

Marinette turned the corner right when he got akumatized for the third time. She didn’t hear what he whispered in Chloe’s ear when he picked her up, but she did hear the crunch of her phone in his hand. 

“Luka! Put her down!” 

“No! She will pay for this! For working for Hawkmoth, for threatening Ladybug, for threatening you!”

“Whatever she did, it’s not worth it! She’s not worth it!”

Lila was laughing maniacally in his grip.

“Idiot! The photo was posted last night!”

“What photo?” Marinette shrieked. “Luka; what. Photo?”

He didn’t respond. Just threw Lila as hard as he could, straight into the Seine. His entire body was vibrating with rage, but suddenly the akuma left. The emotions didn’t, though.

“Luka, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Lila was still cackling in the Seine.

“A photo, of you, Marinette. You transforming into Ladybug.”

He was crying. 

“And now Hawkmoth knows! Good going Couffaine, very impressive.” Lila called from the water. 

Marinette pulled out her phone and found it immediately. “That’s… a very shitty photoshop, Lila. Like… wow. Garbage. Even the camera quality is terrible. Good to know I can get you arrested for taking pictures of a minor without consent, though.”

She sauntered over to the edge of the boat and leaned on the railing. 

“Have you even looked at the comments on this thing? Everyone and their mother says it’s a fake. I’m sure Hawkmoth is reading those with great interest right now. It’s a shame you cost him another akumatization, though.”

That caught her off guard. “I saw you, so don’t try to deny it!”

“Yeah, right, like I’m gonna believe that. You’re literally lying to me, about me.”

“Fine, then let’s see those earrings! Let me get out of the water first, though.” Lila swam to the side and Marinette pulled her out, popping her earrings out and handing them to her.

“Go ahead. Try them on.”

Tikki was hiding in Marinette’s purse, terrified as he watched Lila put in her earrings.

“Transform me!” Lila yelled.

...but nothing happened.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Why isn’t it working, Dupain-Cheng? Don’t play games with me!” Lila jabbed her finger into Marinette’s chest. “Are these fake?”

“Nope. I’ve been wearing those earrings forever. You’ve seen them.”

“You could’ve made replicas!”

“I work with fabrics and sketches. I have friends who make and ship me jewelry. Besides, I would’ve signed those if I made them.”

“Not if they were supposed to be your Miraculous!”

Lila ripped them out of her ears angrily and threw them on the ground. 

“Okay, rude.” Marinette bent down to grab them and put them back in. “Are you done now?”

“I swear I will expose you, Ladybug. One day, your life is going to fall apart, and I’ll be the one to do it.” She hissed before stalking away. 

“Luka… did you get all of that on camera?”

“Guilty as charged. When should I upload it?”

“Mmmm… now. Let’s do it together, see how she tries to get out of this one. Also, I think it’s time for a public denunciation. Do you know how to get in contact with Ladybug?”

“Nope, but if I see her I can certainly tell her. Maybe Alya? Or Chloe?”

“Yeah… yeah, that could work.” Marinette grinned and went below deck with him to put this rumor to rest once and for all.

They sent the video to everyone who’d been at the Lila Meeting and uploaded it to the blog. 

“How’d you know it was photoshopped? Wait, dumb question.” Luka laughed. Juleka popped her head out of her room at the sound, then checked her phone. 

“Oh. Wow. You should’ve called me up there. That looked intense.”

“Marinette handled it like a pro.” Luka pulled Mari in for a hug.

“It was nothing. I mean, what, does she think I’m going to believe her?”

“Are you actually going to report her for the picture?”

“Oh definitely. That’s just creepy. Plus we have proof. She admitted to taking the picture.”

“I didn’t get that part on film, actually.”

“She posted it from her blog, and Adrien decided to do an IP-tracker and traced it to her laptop.” He’d practically screamed it completely out of the blue during a Physics demo they were supposed to be doing online. Mendeliev hadn’t been thrilled, but he showed her the finished demo and she couldn’t really complain after that.

“Do you guys want me to call everyone over?”

“Nah, we sent them all the video. If they’re curious they know we’re at the boat.” Marinette shrugged.

“Alright. What’s the plan then? Need me to lend you some pajamas Mari?” Juleka asked.

Marinette paused to consider. Spending the night could be fun. She liked hanging out with both Couffaine siblings, but she needed to get somewhere private ASAP. “I think I’m alright. I should probably tell the cops soon so they can at least look around the building, remove any cameras.”

“Do you want anyone to stay the night?” Juleka asked. 

“Maybe? I’ll text you if it’s a yes. I might do a big sleepover. Right now, though, I need to talk with my parents and the cops.”

“Let me walk you home at the very least. Just in case she’s planning something.” Luka offered.

“I’ll be alright. Just guard the computer.” She leaned in to give him a quick hug goodbye, then hugged Juleka, and took off for home. 

Lila didn’t know up, but she wasn’t about to take any chances. She showed her parents the video, had them call the police, and then went to her room and balcony to check if for cameras. There was a tiny one set on the roof across the street, and she yelled to her parents when she saw it.

“On it honey!” Sabine called back. Tom was the one who went next door and inquired about taking it down. Their neighbors hadn’t even realized it was up there. 

“Dad, don’t touch it! The cops can use it for fingerprints! Just leave it there for now and tell them when they get here.” She called down.

She was really doing it. She was reporting Lila to the cops. Soon, she would be making a direct callout as Ladybug, hopefully with Alya and the Ladyblog. If things escalated too quickly, Nadja might pick the story up.

She went back inside, closed the shades on all her windows, locked everything up, and let out Tikki.

“That was terrifying!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry! I knew it wouldn’t work since I never renounced you, but if I didn’t let her at least try it was game over!”

“Oh Marinette, I know you did what you had to! I was just scared she was going to throw the earrings into the Seine or something crazy!”

“Then I would’ve jumped in after them. You’re stuck with me.”

The two hugged and Tikki flew off to get Master Fu. They were going to need to wipe Lila’s memory. She’d seen Marinette transform, and that was a no-go.

“Marinette, the police are here. They want a statement from you, and the video.” Her mother called up.

Marinette shuffled downstairs after sending a text to Adrien asking him to come as fast as he could with Lila’s IP address and the associated evidence. He wasn’t expecting a whole thing to come out of it, but once he was caught up to speed he handed it over without complaint. The cops took the camera as evidence as well, and if it happened to get just a little damaged so they couldn’t review the footage stored on it? Well, Adrien certainly hadn’t seen his kwami zip up and wipe the memory. The fingerprint evidence was definitely still there, though.

The cops left about two hours later after a thorough search of the building and surrounding block. Roger had said the Sabrina told him Lila was bad news, but he didn’t think she’d go that far. The last thing he said before leaving was that Lila would be spending quite a while in juvie, providing they could prove she did take and post that picture.

Master Fu, geared up with Alix’s broken-and-temporarily-fixed Miraculous, appeared in Lila Rossi’s window late that night. The police had visited earlier when he’d wanted to wipe her memory, but now was better than never. She never heard him utter the power phrase, never saw him, didn’t even feel him brush his hand over her back. Then he was gone, and her memory of the time she’d caught Ladybug was gone, replaced with a fake timeline where she simply photoshopped it out of spite for both her nemeses. 

“I am sorry Fluff, but I must break your Miraculous again. Alix must never know you were gone.”

“I’ll be right as carrots in no time Master, no time at all!” The little rabbit laughed as they were renounced and as the Miraculous was precisely cracked to the way it was before. Then, Fu and Wayzz broke back into Alix’s room and put the watch back in its place.

Alix was gone with the rest of the girls at Marinette’s, having that giant sleepover she told Juleka about. They were all strewn about the living room, picking apart the video and picture and just having a good time. There was also quite a bit of teasing about Marinette’s date, especially from Chloe. She’d been hesitant to invite her, but she was part of this whole Lila mess, and it was meant to be a gesture of good faith.

She realized she still needed to talk to her as Ladybug about the whole Queen Bee situation. Her plan as of right now was to give her a different Miraculous and make sure she stayed quiet about that one. No theatrics, no reveals. Just hero training and absolute secrecy. She was a talented fight, almost grabbed Mayura’s Miraculous, and she deserved a chance to actually prove herself.

Once Marinette fell asleep, the girls divided into shifts for the night. If Lila came anywhere near the bakery, they would know.

Marinette slept soundly for the first time in a long while.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm American and child abduction alerts are called Amber Alerts, and for this I literally had to look up what the French version was. You're welcome.

Gabriel didn’t sleep at all. He’d just lost his most powerful ally. She might be absolutely insane, thinking that clumsy bakery girl was anywhere near qualified to be Ladybug, but she was still an expert manipulator. Knowing that she’d stooped so low as to take a candid of the girl and photoshop a transformation on her had made him reconsider allowing her anywhere near his son, especially after both he and Audrey had told him that she was known for being a liar and seemed to want his son for his status.

Looking back, he probably should’ve done a better job of keeping her away from himself as well. She may have been wrong about Ladybug, but if she got close enough she could’ve figured out he was Hawkmoth. 

That girl had gotten her hooks deeper into his family faster than anyone ever had before, and now she was being sent to juvie. His son had even helped with the initial report! He would have to thank the Dupain-Chengs for being so proactive about it. 

Adrien had a rough night of sleep, mostly out of worry for Marinette. It was only after he got a text from Alya at 3 AM that it was her turn to stand guard over the sleepover that he managed to get some shut eye.

The entire school was in an uproar the next day when all the girls walked in, shouting that Marinette was a hero for protecting herself and Ladybug and finally putting Lila in her place. 

“Did you guys tell everyone?” She asked, looking around at the girls. 

“A person here, a person there.” Alya said noncommittally. “And I may have mentioned it on the Ladyblog.”

“Show me.” Marinette sighed. 

‘There have been some rumors going around that my best friend is none other than Ladybug herself, and I’m here to put them to rest. You’ve all seen that picture floating around, but none of you know the real story. Whoever posted that,’ and she linked Adrien’s anonymous post, ‘was telling the truth. Marinette’s way too busy to be Ladybug anyways. She’s the girl behind Jagged Stone’s new album cover and those sick glasses he has! She was also in Clara Nightingale’s video. And, if we’re being honest, the girl is just a little too clumsy to be a superhero. Love you babe! <3

Now, onto the person who posted that nasty photoshop: Lila! Those of you who saw the video I took down will remember that I said it was for her and Ladybug’s privacy and protection. That was a lie. I took it down because it came out that Lila had been lying to everyone for quite some time now and didn’t actually know Ladybug at all apart from being rescued from her numerous akumatizations. She’s been trying to hurt Ladybug and Marinette, and figured the best way to do that was to try to expose Ladybug’s identity and paint a giant target on Mari’s back for Hawkmoth. A friend of ours tracked her IP address, and yes, she is the infamous ‘Unlucky,’ and we are seeking legal action for the picture she took of Marinette to make that photoshop. I won’t say any more about it, but know we’re all working hard to protect both her and Ladybug.

Bug out, Bugheads!’

“That’s… really well put together, Alya. Thank you.”

“Of course girl, you know I’ve got your back! I just hope Ladybug feels the same.” She sighed. “Besides, if you were Ladybug you would’ve told me by now. You can’t keep a secret from me for the life of you.”

“Can so!”

“Yeah, right.” Alya laughed and sat down at their desk. There was plenty of celebrating the whole day, which confused the teachers to no end. No one was about to tell them they were celebrating Lila possibly being sent to juvie, though. That was a bit much.

Besides, there was a chance she might not get arrested. Her mother was a diplomat, after all.

Once school let out Marinette ran home, transformed, and went to the Bourgeois Hotel to meet Chloe. Ladybug was lounging by the pool when she finally got home. 

“Ladybug! Is there an akuma? Do you need me? Is it about Lila?” Chloe scrambled over to her side, practically vibrating with nervous energy.

“There’s no akuma, calm down Chloe. I came to talk to you.” She smiled. “About Queen Bee and Lila.”

“Oh?” She rolled back on her heels. “Are you going to let me be Queen Bee again?”

“Well… no.” She deflated. “Actually, I was thinking of giving you a different Miraculous. Keep quiet, I know you’re about to scream. The conditions are, you can’t let anyone know about this one. You can’t let anyone find out your identity either. You’ll have to give it back after we’re done, just like usual. Do you still want to help?”

“Of course!” She whispered excitedly. “Can I come for the next akuma fight?”

“Only when we need you, Chloe. Bringing out more Miraculous is always risky, so Chat Noir and I avoid it if we can. Thank you for understanding.”

“Yeah, yes, absolutely Ladybug! What did you want to know about Lila?”

“I heard the Ladyblogger was looking for an interview with me about it and wanted to make sure that was true before just dropping in.”

“She absolutely does. Destroy her, Ladybug. She’s awful.”

“I know, Chloe. I know. Thank you.” She held out her hand for a handshake, but Chloe pulled her into a hug instead. Just this once, Marinette decided that was ok.

Next stop: Alya’s.

Her best friend was waiting for her when she arrived. “I’m guessing Chloe told you I was coming?”

“No, I just wait for you like this all day. Yeah, Chloe told me.” Alya smiled, gesturing to the empty seat. “Now sit! Everyone’s been dying for your take on the last few days. Chat Noir, Envivre, Protecoeur, and now this.”

The camera was already rolling. “Jeez, where do you want me to start?” She asked, sliding into the chair.

“At the beginning, I guess. What made Chat Noir go crazy?”

“I think you already know the answer.”

“Yeah, but I wanna hear you say it.”

“Chat has a crush on me, and a crush on Marinette I guess? And he wanted us to be the same person.”

“Yikes. Mari was on a date when that all went down.”

“Yeah, I heard. Poor guy.” They both laughed.

“And Envivre?”

“Lila’s fourth akumatization. Volpina, Volpina again on Heroes’ Day, and Chameleon. She wasn’t any harder to fight than usual, but wow it was annoying.”

“What happened during Protecoeur? Chat Noir didn’t even show up for that one. I figured you two wouldn’t be working together-together, but to not even show up seemed like a bit much.”

“You all heard he’s getting therapy, right?”

“Right.”

“He was in a session, a non-interruptible one, so I got a little help from his kwami instead. That was why the building collapsed.”

“Ooooh. I’m glad I don’t remember that.”

“Yeah, you were outside when it happened. That akuma was also over Marinette, wasn’t it?”

“Yep. Both her crushes turned into one giant akuma to protect her. Lila totally flipped that day, making up all sorts of stuff about how Marinette was the reason people got akumatized. It was insane. We call her our everyday Ladybug for a reason.”

“You call her your everyday Ladybug? That’s really sweet!”

“Yeah, she’s great. That’s why we’re best friends!” She paused to look over her notes and tick things off on her fingers. “Alright, last thing, have you seen the picture and video online?”

“It’s all anyone’s talking about nowadays.”

“Thoughts?”

“I’m flattered she took the time to make all my spots, but I can’t excuse peeping and taking photos. Who knows what other pictures she took of your friend?”

“Oh my god I didn’t even think of that. Do you think she would?”

“I don’t know Lila apart from this event and her akumas, so I can’t really answer that question. I’m just glad she’s seeking legal action for it. I can only do so much to protect the city.”

“And the video?”

“I was afraid she was going to throw your friend’s earrings in the Seine, she looked so mad. That would’ve been… a bit much.”

“Are you hoping for a conviction?”

“I just want the truth to come out. Marinette has been through a lot. She seemed shaken after Envivre, and I’m sure it’s only gotten worse this week. She looked strong enough in that video, but looks are deceiving.”

“Oh, one more question! I lied. Are you and Chat Noir okay?”

Marinette was quiet for a moment, thinking about him. “He apologized. It’s going to take time, but we’re still partners. We’re still going to work together and defend this city. We’ll be alright. You can all count on us. Thank you, Alya. Bug out, Bugheads.” She waved to the camera, to Alya, and zipped out the window.

Chat Noir caught her on her way back home. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I saw you at the Ladyblogger’s place and figured I would wait out here for you. Are you… alright?”

Marinette hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Marinette. That girl’s going to be getting a ton of unwanted attention. How’s therapy?”

“Master’s helping me a lot, actually.” Chat Noir smiled. “And I decided I want to take some time to myself, not pursue anyone until I’m happy with myself. He said I was trying to substitute other people’s love for my own, and it made a lot of sense.”

“I’m glad, Chaton. Want to patrol for a bit?”

“Yeah.”

Yeah, they would be alright.

They patrolled for almost three hours, just enjoying the wind in their hair and the feeling of the roofs. Neither wanted to face what was going to happen back home. They would both have to deal with the police, interviewers, and worst of all: parents. The sleepover and stress of the day had kept them busy, but tonight everything would come crashing down. Everyone wanted the full story, and so far only the members of the Lila Meeting, Ms. Rossi, and whoever they’d told had it.

Marinette was curled up in bed when her parents came up to talk. It was long, and her dad may have cried. May have. They both vowed to help her however they could. Of course they would; they were her parents.

As soon as they left, Chat Noir was tapping on her closed and shaded window. She could tell by the sound of his claws hitting the glass. Even so, she made a show of moving the blinds before letting him in.

“You can kick me out if you want, I just wanted to make sure you were ok!” He held his hands up as soon as he landed, looking resolutely on the floor.

“I already told you and everyone else that I’m not mad, Chat Noir. Thank you for checking up on me. Is Ladybug ok?”

“I think so. She said she was worried about you, too. I saw the video. You were very brave.” 

“Thanks. Oh, and thanks for the note, too.”

“You found it?”

“Yeah. Thanks for giving me space, too. Luka was pretty mad.”

“I can see why.” He laughed softly. “I saw the videos from that day. I kinda lost it, didn’t I?”

“Just a little. But, you did it for love. So I guess I can forgive you.” 

“You’re the best, Marinette.”

“Yeah, yeah, now get out of here. The cops are coming again tonight to check the place over, and I don’t think they’ll take too kindly to a stray cat in my room.” 

“Good luck Marinette. We’re all rooting for you. Even if you can’t send her to juvie, she’ll never be able to hurt another person in her life.”

“I hope so, Chat. I hope so.” He waved goodbye before taking off.

“I still kinda wanna slap him.” Tikki murmured once he was gone. 

“Understandable. I was surprised you didn’t take off to chew him out that day.”

“Your well-being is more important, Marinette.”

“Thanks Tikki. Ready for another interrogation?”

“Yep!” 

Tikki phased into the hollow section of the walls and listened as Marinette was questioned for the second time. Same story, same evidence, same noncommittal responses from Roger and his team.

Lila was gone by the next morning, and no one knew where she’d disappeared to. Her mother had gone to the police in a fury, demanding they tell her what they’d done. Once they explained that they hadn’t taken her daughter, she started screaming that they’d better find her soon. An Abduction Alert was sent out, and the game was afoot anew. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof already chapter 17 we're coming in hot I swear if I messed this up on one of them i'm gonna be PISSED

“I bet she ran away.” Ladybug huffed as her and Chat Noir took their fifth lap of the city. They’d been everywhere at least twice now, all along varying routes and in constant contact with the police. Rena Rouge, Carapace, and the newly appointed Dog Miraculous wielder, who had yet to pick a name for herself, were also patrolling the city. They all met up at the school with no progress to report.

“It’s alright. She can’t have gotten that far.”

“Have we checked all outgoing flights?” The Dog Wielder asked, jumping down to get some water from a fountain in the gym.

“Someone’s working on that in the police department, but no word yet.”

“Why are we looking for her anyway? She’s been nothing but trouble ever since she moved here.” Rena panted. Carapace was half-holding her up at this point. 

Everyone turned to look at Ladybug. No one had wanted to join the search, honestly. “Because, she’s still a citizen of Paris, and that makes her our responsibility. If we ignored everyone we have a grudge against, we wouldn’t exactly be heroes.”

The other four let out a defeated sigh. “Can we at least take a break? We’re not going to be any help if we’re too tired to fight.”

“Yeah. Meet back here in an hour, and make sure your kwami all get something to eat, too.”

“If Hawkmoth weren’t such a grade-A asshat, maybe he could track her through her emotions.”

“I’ll send out a request.” Ladybug flipped out her yoyo-comm and temporarily took over the airwaves. 

“Hawkmoth, I hope you’re listening right now, but we have a missing person’s case and we were hoping you could find her with your emotion powers or whatever and help us bring her home. If you’re not too busy being a terrible person and all. Bye.” 

She sounded just as defeated as she looked. Chat Noir noticed.

“My Lady, you need to rest, too. I’m not taking a break unless you are.”

“Yeah, same here. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“What’s bothering you, bug?”

Her teammates all crowded in around her. “She’s going to get away again, just like she always does. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stop Lila.”

“Don’t worry Ladybug. Even if she never gets caught for good, we’ll be here for you.” They all put their fists in the middle of the circle and smiled up at her.

“Bien joue?”

“Bien joue.” She whispered, putting her own fist in. In and out of the mask, she would have support. She just had to remember to rely on them.

Lila turned up in Italy more than six hours later, trying to flee the Italian Police Force and Interpol. She was arrested on the spot in a highly televised event and handed off to the French Police within the next hour.

Ladybug, Marinette, and Chat Noir were waiting at the station. Marinette was surrounded by bodyguards.

Lila was screaming at them all the entire time. Despite her memory being wiped, she knew she’d gone with the ‘Marinette is Ladybug’ lie for far too long to back out now.

“SOMEBODY TOUCH THEM! ONE IS AN ILLUSION!” 

Chat Noir reached over to touch Ladybug’s shoulder while a bodyguard put a hand firmly on Marinette’s. Lila shrieked as she was towed away. Her mother just looked sad. Relieved that her daughter was alive and healthy, but sad. 

“I’m sorry it had to go this way, Mme. Rossi.”

“It’s not your fault, Ladybug. I suppose I just wasn’t a good enough mother.”

“I already told you that’s not the case. None of this is your fault.” She placed a hand on her arm comfortingly. 

Everyone went home that night, safe and secure. In the following months, Lila plead insanity and was sent to intensive therapy. 

Marinette had had to pull some major strings to get Alya to return her Miraculous so Master Fu could pull off the illusion at the train station. It had been a nightmare making sure none of the bodyguards or Marinette were touched on the way over, but they managed it together with the help of Chat Noir, and now everyone knew with one-hundred-percent-certainty that Marinette and Ladybug were completely separate people.

Finally, Marinette could go back to being ‘just a normal girl with a normal life.’ School, Hawkmoth, and finally telling Luka what her decision was. Oh, and the name Chloe chose for herself ended up being ‘Guard Dog.’ No mention of royalty whatsoever, to help keep Hawkmoth off her (brand new) tail. 

How to tell him, though… 

Luka invited everyone over to the boat for a big party the day after Lila was captured. Everyone from the Lila Meeting showed up, plus a few more from the other classes who’d caught wind.

Adrien got to play with Kitty Section, who’d spent the entire night writing and rehearsing a new song to celebrate their triumph. It was called ‘Lying Lila.’

Most of the kids outside of Bustier’s class left after a few hours, and the others left a little after that. The class itself was planning on overnighting on the boat. Class had been cancelled at Francois-Dupont to give them all time to recover, and Luka found out later that night that it was cancelled at his school as well.

Luka and Marinette stayed up well into the morning just watching the city from the quiet of the deck.

“How was the date?”

“Fun! We went to a movie, got takeout, and played a bunch of videogames.”

“You really liked it?”

“Yeah.” She smiled secretly at the few twinkling stars that showed up despite the lights of the city. “Not as much as I like you, though.” 

Luka made a slight choking noise, but recovered quickly. “So… does that mean?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Absolutely. Yeah, totally!” 

They shared the first of many kisses that early, early morning.

Telling Chat Noir that she was seeing someone was the most nerve-wracking experience Ladybug had ever had. What if he didn’t approve? What if he didn’t want to be her friend any more? He’d said he was getting help and that he was genuinely getting better thanks to Master Fu, but what if he still freaked out?

“Chat?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we talk?”

“Are you still mad about Envivre?”

“No, well, yeah, that was still dumb and it’ll be dumb forever, but I’m over that! This is actually about… something else.”

His ears perked up in curiosity. It was kinda cute, Marinette thought.

“I’m seeing someone.”

“Good for you! Would I approve of him?” She heard the pain laced through his voice, but he did seem happy for her. A little sad, a little hurt. But happy.

“Yeah. I think you would.”

“Does he know?”

“Of course not!” She swatted his chest and they both laughed. 

“Then in that case, I know something he doesn’t.”

“What, are you going to say I’m Marinette too, now?”

“No! I’m just the only person that knows Ladybug has a boyfriend.” She snorted at the self-satisfied look on his face.

“Alright, alright, don’t tease me!”

“What’s he like?”

“He’s… really sweet. I’ve had a crush on him for a while now. I just didn’t realize right then and there that that was what it was.”

The way she smiled shyly at the ground made Chat’s heart flutter. Love really suited his Lady. And no matter who she ended up with, she would always be his Lady. He could find some comfort in that.

Marinette’s life didn’t really go back to normal until after Lila’s case ended. Reporters were all over the place, and transforming sneakily was ridiculously difficult. She made it through, though, and the business to the bakery was more than worth all the hassle. 

The class as a whole was much tighter after that, and so was the school. People were less likely to be akumatized, there were more parties, and people just seemed happier. Lila did end up getting akumatized once or twice when Hawkmoth was desperate, but she was so unpredictable and impossible to control that he stopped after that second time. She made a much sloppier villain, too, so Ladybug and Chat Noir had a ridiculously easy time defeating her once they managed to catch up to her. She’d gone for Marinette’s house both times with the intent of killing her for ‘ruining her life’ or whatever.

She never got far.

And so, life carried on until the biggest threat to the city was Hawkmoth once more. And Master Fu and Marinette were preparing to bring out some new allies to finally put that fight to rest.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is supposed to have 25 chapters to contextualize the last note, there's 25 parts on my tumblr so that's the metric i'm using

But first, Marinette had to go on her first official date with Luka, her kinda-official boyfriend. She’d said yes, he’d said yes, but then that whole thing with Lila came up and it was impossible to see each other when Marinette was constantly being hounded by the police and reporters asking about her involvement in the whole affair. Adrien ended up driving her to and from school almost every day he could (Gabriel had said yes so he could learn more about Marinette and see if there was any truth at all to Lila’s story. As far as he could see, she was just a clutz with a pair of earrings and an eye for fashion. He’d have to bring her into the company once she was ready. A shame she was dating that musician, really… Well… he could always pair Adrien off with Kagami). 

It was weird. She’d been spending exponentially more time with Adrien now that she’d decided to give Luka a chance. She wasn’t complaining, by any means! Adrien was a great friend, and he seemed a lot happier and more invested in things nowadays, but she really did want to hang out with Luka more.

And now that Lila was in the cops’ hands, she could. Most of the reporters had cleared out when Sabine threatened to sue on the basis of privacy invasion of a minor. 

Marinette ducked her head outside and carefully slipped out of the door. If anyone was lingering she’d make sure to get a picture of them and send it to her mother. Getting rid of anyone who could catch her as Ladybug was more than incentive.

She didn’t spot anyone on her walk to the park. Luka was hanging out on the carousel with a bunch of kids, playing his guitar and humming for them. He opened one eye as she approached and swung his feet off the second horse he’d been laying on.

“Hey pretty girl.” He murmured over the sound of the strings as she crawled onto the horse. 

She blushed. “Hey.” 

“Is that your girlfriend?” One of the kids yelled.

Luka blushed, suddenly wide-eyed as he looked over at Marinette. She wondered what he was going to say for a second until his eyes went all soft and he smiled. “Yeah… I guess she is.”

The stayed on the carousel for a while, Mari just listening to Luka as he played for the kids and her. Eventually they all got tired and wandered off and they could just talk.

“How ya feeling?” 

“I’m alright. At least Lila’s out of our hair now. How’d your school take it?”

“Everyone mostly just laughed it off. They all knew she was lying, thanks to you.” He brushed his knuckle over her cheek.

At some point they ended up sitting on the same horse, Luka behind Marinette as he guided her hands over his guitar.

“I’m not great with music, Luka, so don’t expect anything great.” She leaned back against his chest to look up at him. He was laughing softly.

“I’m sure whatever you come up with is going to be great. Have some faith, Marinette.” He kissed her forehead lightly. “Now play something for me.” 

She hummed softly, trying to think of a tune. Her fingers twitched, playing an invisible melody until she finally connected. It was just a few chords, nothing fancy like Luka could do, but it didn’t sound bad and she was honestly enjoying herself. 

“Keep going. You’re doing amazing.” His voice was a gentle whisper in her ear and she shivered suddenly, not realizing how much she’d been focusing on the instrument in her hands. Luka was playing with her now, four hands on one guitar. Well, three, Mari wasn’t using her second hand, technically. The air was slowly filled with music again, and the kids came back to listen to the new song. Luka started humming in her ear again as they clambered onto the ride, pushing and squealing to get the best seats. 

“HmmmmMmmM… we have company.”

Marinette wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were closed as she worked over the few strings she felt comfortable with, imagining them as threads she would weave into a fabric of music. 

She looked positively heavenly, Luka decided as he watched her relax further against him. This was how he always wanted her to look, how she’d looked that first disaster of a date at the skating rink. Serene, calm, like the eye of a perfect storm. The ends of her hair curled as a light breeze wended through the park. Most of the children had calmed down too, once they were settled on the ride. One had fallen asleep on their horse. 

Luka slowly ended his accompaniment and pulled out his phone, placing it in his jacket pocket with the camera and microphone sticking out. Once it was recording to his satisfaction, he started playing again.

They sat there for maybe an hour, just relaxing in the sunshine. Gradually, Marinette’s melody got more complicated. She picked up chords quickly when she heard Luka play certain combinations. When she finally stopped, it was with a jump and surprise at the changed scene around her. 

“You guys should get married.” A little boy said, arms crossed over the top of his horse as he stared at them.

“Mmmm… maybe not yet.” Luka chuckled softly, slinging his guitar behind his back. 

A bunch of kids complained at that. Marinette was too stunned to do anything but laugh softly as Luka defended her from the insistent pleas to have a wedding. When it was clear there wasn’t going to be a spontaneous wedding, the kids all ran off to play again.

Luka helped Mari off the carousel like a perfect gentleman. “You played beautifully Marinette.”

“How long were we sitting there?”

“Hour… hour and a half?” Luka shrugged, taking out his phone to stop the recording and check the time. “Yeah, about an hour and a half.”

“Really? I’m sorry, I totally zoned out!” Marinette bounced his wrists nervously. 

“I’d stay there for a month with you.” He pulled her into a warm hug.

Her face warmed as she breathed in the smell of his cologne. “You don’t have to do that. Just tell me when I zone, Alya does it all the time!”

“Nope. Not when you’re playing like that. Can’t make me.” He teased, squeezing her until she laughed. “Now let’s get you something to eat and some lotion for your hands. They’re probably going to be sore for a little while.”

Marinette looked down at her fingers and realized they were pretty red. “Why don’t yours get like that?”

“You never noticed?” He pulled her arm out and dragged the tips of his fingers over them. “Calluses. They help me play without ripping my fingers off all the time.”

“Oh… I don’t get that with fabrics.” She turned his palm over, tracing over the calluses with interest. “Maybe I should use your pick next time.”

“You still have it?” 

Marinette looked up at the tone of his voice. It was surprised, embarrassed, impressed, and oh so reverent. “Of course.”

His mouth made a little ‘o’ shape and he turned away, bright red. “Uh-um… food! Right! Food and lotion!”

Marinette chuckled softly and took his hand, leading him back to the bakery for lunch. 

“Maman! We’re back!” 

“Good, I just finished baking the next batch. Take them out of the oven for me while I set the table? Oh, hello Luka!” Sabine moved around the counter and kitchen like a fish through water. Luka could tell she was in her element.

“Can I do anything?”

“You can have a seat, dear, and find somewhere to put your guitar. Tom! Luka’s here!”

Tom poked his head out of the bakery and smiled. “Hello! Just finishing up some tarts in here! What’s your favorite, Luka?”

“Oh, um, strawberry, I guess!” He called back as Tom disappeared around the wall. 

He heard him yell from inside the kitchen. “Darn, I’m making lemon raspberry! Honey, do we have any strawberry left from this morning?”

“Nonsense Tom, we’re not serving him anything but fresh! I have strawberry cannolis that need piping anyways.”

“Oh, really, it’s nothing Mme. Cheng, you don’t have to!” Luka held up his hands as he slid into a seat. 

“On it Maman!” Marinette yelled from inside the kitchen. “And Luka, you’d better get used to it. We’re feeding you, and that’s our whooooooole business.” Marinette winked from the doorway, piping bag in hand. Luka felt his heart skip a beat. She really could make anything look great, couldn’t she? A flour covered, juice-stained apron, and she was positively radiant. Everywhere was her element.

The lunch was delicious, and the cannolis Marinette piped even better. The chatter around the table was cozy. Usually, when he went to meet someone’s parents, everything was awkward and forced. The Dupain-Chengs didn’t have that. And sure, he’d met them before whenever he and Jules stopped in for treats, but this was different. Good different. 

Marinette was just glad her mom had told off Papa for the disaster that was last time. Chat Noir’s dinner was positively nightmarish, especially after the akumatization. Once lunch was over the two left again to walk around Paris. Luka wanted to stop at a music store and Marinette had heard about a new shipment of fabrics at her favorite supply store. 

“What did you think?”

“Hm?” Luka glanced down at her. 

“About my parents.” 

“They’re great, Mari. They’ve always been great, ever since I walked in the store the first time.”

“I think they like you, too.” She laughed softly. 

“I hope so. I was glued to the news when your dad got akumatized.”

She groaned. “You saw that?!” 

“Mmmaaaaaaybe. There wasn’t much to see, just the giant stalk on the ground. No one could get high enough to see what was going on up there. Why, is there something I should know?” He leaned in with a very Chat-esque grin. 

“Nope, nothing at all!” She pushed his nose back just like she would with Chat Noir and Luka laughed. 

“Alright, alright, I won’t push. I’m just glad you were safe.”

They ducked into the music shop and Luka greeted the owner like an old friend. “Oh, this is Marinette! She’s did Jagged’s sunglasses and album cover.”

“That was you? That’s incredible, girl! I can’t believe you got to meet Jagged Stone.” He waxed poetic about how it was his dream to have Jagged in his shop one day while Luka went to the back to look at electric guitars. 

“Do you play?” Marinette tuned back into the owner at the question.

“She played for an hour at the park today! She’s a natural!” Luka yelled from the back. 

“Great! Interested in ever getting your own guitar?”

“I-I’m more into fashion and designing, honestly.” She stuttered, flushing from the praise. “Besides, I’m sure I could just borrow one from Luka.”

“I bet you could. You could repaint it, too, make it nice and snazzy for him. Like what you see back there, Luka?” He yelled. 

“Yeah! How much is this one?” Luka held up a teal, black, and green marbled electric.

The owner squinted to get a better look at it. “For you… $180! I know you don’t need the cords and amp, so that’s the flat price for the guitar.”

“Put it on hold, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Gonna trade your old one in?”

“No way, that’s my Kitty Section guitar. This one’s for me, and me alone! And maybe Marinette if she wants.” Luka winked at her, setting the guitar down on the counter. 

“I’ll keep her nice and safe for you. Got a name picked out already?”

“Nope! I’d have to hear her before that.” Luka ran a hand gently over the strings. “I’m sure it’ll come to me. Thanks!”

“Have fun, kids!” The owner called as they left.

“He seemed really nice.”

“He’s like a father to me.” Luka grinned, turning back to wave. “I’ve been going there ever since I was… five? I think? I had a toy ukulele and he let me try an acoustic, and I was sold.”

They spent well over three hours in the craft store while Marinette catalogued every new fabric, complete with notes and bar code numbers, so she could find and order them if she ever needed one for a project. Luka learned a lot about different textures and what they were good for. She even started quizzing him when she noticed the way he would scrunch fabrics together to see how they moved. 

It was early evening when they finally left the craft store. Luka walked her all the way home and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before heading back to the boat himself. 

“Tikki, that was a great date!”

“It was incredible, Marinette! You play beautifully!” 

“You think so?”

“Yep! With practice, I bet you could even join Kitty Section on stage!”

“I’m content with being their costume designer.”

Both girls laughed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also shoutout to my university making me scramble to find a roommate so I don't end up paying for a single room. This fic was started in like summer 2019 and finished during quarantine, for anyone reading in the future.

The first new heroes Marinette decided to bring into rotation were Alix, Kagami, and Kim. Alix was a no-brainer; If she was the last resort for them when they were older, she would need to be the most adept of anyone to handle the worst situations. Kagami was incredible as a fencer and the two had grown closer over the whole Lila scandal. Picking her was like picking Alya. And Kim? They were childhood friends, like her and Nino. She’d decided she would leave Luka out of this as long as possible. Keeping him safe was more important. Not that keeping everyone else safe wasn’t also a priority!! She just trusted them more to be able to take care of themselves. 

Luka hadn’t had the greatest childhood, and it still affected him to this day. She’d realized it more and more every time they went out on a date, or even just from interacting with Juleka. The Couffaine siblings already had so much on their plate taking care of the boat and half-raising themselves, she didn’t want to overwhelm them. Maybe, one day, she could bring them onto the force. But not now. 

Ladybug ran the new heroes through their paces, each one sparring against an already established hero. Kagami (who hadn’t chosen her name quite yet) dueled against Carapace and Rena Rouge, for the challenge, Bunnix practiced combat without her powers against Chat Noir, and Roi Singe tackled Guard Dog. Ladybug watched everyone carefully, pointing out their weak spots or improper form and giving constant praise for things done well. Every once in a while, she would randomly jump into an attack on either side, to keep everyone on their toes. At one point, she declared herself Hawkmoth and took on all seven heroes at once. That was easily the most productive day they’d ever had. One-by-one she would separate the group and pick off a hero, forcing them to detransform and give back the Miraculous. Eventually, each of the heroes was watching from where they’d been caught as Ladybug faced off against Chat Noir. While they fought, she explained the point of that exercise.

“We’re all a team! You can’t let your personal feelings get in the way, ever! If Hawkmoth or Mayura ever did manage to get you alone, there’s a very real chance you could lose your Miraculous to him! Stay! With! Your! Team!” Every word was another clash between Ladybug’s arms and legs and Chat’s baton. He was barely keeping her at bay. 

“Carapace! Rena! You two work amazingly together, but Heroes Day proved that you’re too emotional about each other! If one of you goes down, it becomes that much easier to take out the other! You have to channel that frustration into your attacks and do everything you can to help your partner by defeating the akuma! Don’t be reckless! 

Bunnix, you’re good at evading and finding hiding spots, but you can only last so long before you’re cornered! Then you have no choice but to use your power, and by then you’ve already been caught! If you can’t get out within those last five minutes before you detransform, you’re going to end up just like tonight! Learn how to defend yourself instead of constantly running! It’s great when we need to lure someone out, but if you’re trying to escape, you’re going to be in serious trouble!

Guard Dog, you can’t be so flashy with your moves! I understand you want to be graceful and look like a real hero, but fighting is dirty work! All those extra moves leave you open to attack! They look amazing, but unless you’re in the perfect position to take someone out with a fancy attack, it’s too risky!” 

Chat Noir was breathing heavily, but Ladybug looked like she was having the time of her life, beating him slowly back into a corner. Everyone wondered if she was going to demand his Miraculous as well once she defeated him.

“Roi Singe! You have the opposite problem as Bunnix and Guard Dog! You’re too physical! The Monkey Miraculous isn’t just about brute strength! It’s a guerilla Miraculous! You need to be able to duck in, land a hit, and get out of there just as fast! Always keep your enemy on their toes! Never let them know where you’re coming from next! Use those muscles to move around!

Dragon! You need to pick a name so I don’t have to call you Dragon any more! You’re also very quick to fight! Don’t be so formal about challenging someone! You need to work on getting past your reservations and letting loose with your fighting style! All of the training you do as a civilian is fine when you’re at an official match, but these akuma don’t play fair! You don’t have to stay inside a ring and take them out right then and there! I know you’re a tactical genius, I’ve seen you make plans to take out opponents before, you just need to translate that to akumas who won’t work within your rules!”

She landed one last hit on Chat Noir, laying him flat on his back on the roof. 

“Chat Noir! You need to fight me back.” Her voice got much lower, and infinitely more dangerous. “If I were ever akumatized, and it was all down to you, Paris would fall. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that. You need to learn every weakness I have, both to cover me during attacks and to be able to defeat me if the worst happens. These earrings are the only thing standing between this city and Hawkmoth. You know me better than anyone else here. You’ve seen me fight countless times. I’ve mapped out all your weak points in case I ever have to fight you, Chaton. Show me some respect and do the same. I may be Ladybug, but there’s a person under this mask. And she’s almost been akumatized on more than one occasion.”

“My Lady?” Chat Noir’s eyes widened at that. She was already zipping away to hand back the Miraculous so everyone could join back up for the end of the training session.

Once everyone was back on one rooftop, the questions started coming in.

“You’ve almost been akumatized?”

“When?”

“Was it about Lila?”

Ladybug looked between all her friends and smiled. “Yeah. I have. Twice because of Lila, once because of a different bully, and once because I was worried about someone very close to me.”

“How did you fight it off?”

“My kwami helped me. Akumatizations happen because of despair. When you don’t see any other way out of a situation, that’s when you’re vulnerable. Tikki and I have entire speeches prepared to keep away akumas, both from myself and other people.”

“Your kwami sounds amazing.”

“She is.” Ladybug flushed, smiling at her yoyo. “I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

Everyone stretched out their muscles and called it a night, heading back to their chosen transformation locations to give Ladybug back their Miraculous. She dropped them off with Master Fu and stayed to ask about Chat Noir’s therapy.

“He’s doing very well. I can see it every day in the way he acts around others. Especially you, Marinette.” Master Fu smiled at the heroine. “And I hear you’ve found yourself a boyfriend. Are you going to bring him into our little scheme any time soon? I think he would be a perfect fit for the Snake Miraculous.” 

Ladybug looked at the Miracle Box, chest immediately constricting. “I don’t want him getting hurt. He already has so much to deal with.”

“As do you, Marinette. I think he would be very happy to join the team.”

“One day. One day.” Ladybug looked down at her hands. “Do you think it’ll work? Our plan?”

“It’s good to have trained fighters on stand-by. You’re one of the most active Ladybugs I’ve ever heard of.”

“But will it work?”

Fu pulled on his beard, thinking. “I would make one change, but it would take years. If everyone knew how to fight with every Miraculous, I would be certain we couldn’t lose. But there’s no guarantee that we have that long, so for now, I think this will do just fine.”

“I thought about that, too. Chloe knows how to fight with Pollen and Barkk, so that’s something. I’m sure I could get Alya and Nino to swap Miraculous, too.”

She looked out the window at the steadily rising moon and called off her transformation. 

“Heading home, now?”

“Yeah. I told Maman the appointment would be ending right about now. Thank you, Master.” 

“You’re welcome, Ladybug.” He held the door open for her as she left.

Days turned into weeks turned into months and suddenly, Marinette was surrounded by all of her classmates, Kagami, and their newest hero, Viperion. He was understandably intimidated by all of the more trained heroes, but everyone helped walk him through it. By the end of the night he was joking around with Chat Noir, picking fights with Nathaniel, and just having a good time. 

Watching him fall so easily into his hero persona was gratifying. He was graceful, powerful, mature, everything she’d come to know and love about her boyfriend. Tomorrow she’d have to be on high alert to make sure he didn’t get too excited and tell her his identity. It wouldn’t matter, since she already knew, but it was a test she put all her trainees through. 

For now, thought, she was content to watch him melt seamlessly into her gigantic hero family. Hawkmoth had figured out by now that sending out akumas when they were all gathered like this was asking for a swift and humiliating defeat. He only attacked in broad daylight now, during school hours. He’d figured out the heroes were all young enough to still be in school, and planned accordingly.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had figured out some things about Hawkmoth and Mayura, too. Every time she showed up, she was weaker. It wasn’t until Guard Dog got a good one-on-one fight with her for the second time that she noticed the Peacock brooch was cracked. Pretty severely, too. 

Rose had been the first one to suggest following the butterflies after they were purified. Every time, now, they chased them all over the city until it was obvious they were going to a different location every time. The first couple of times, though, they’d all headed towards the same general area. Everyone within a five kilometer radius had been interviewed by the police and had their house searched. Nothing turned up. They all patrolled that area much more closely, though. Everyone in the class whose families had been checked were understandably tense until it all blew over.

Transforming during class was almost ridiculously easy, now that everyone understood the impulse to go hide somewhere private on the off-chance that Ladybug deigned to present them with a Miraculous.

Things were going well. Too well.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But yeah the reason I'm finally getting this onto AO3 is because I'm riding the productivity high I got from finding a roommate finally, so thank them for this.

It happened all at once. Ladybug and Chat Noir had gone out on patrol alone, taking a break from training everyone so they could just catch up and relax. They’d nearly wrapped up when they heard the scream. 

Alix went flying down the street with Nathaniel and Marc hot on her tail. More screams echoed behind them at the Louvre. Ladybug and Chat Noir swooped down to grab the three and place them on a roof.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone’s robbing the Louvre! My dad is in there, Ladybug, you have to save him!”

“How many other people are in there?”

“I don’t know, there was supposed to be an event tonight or something, I was hanging out with Marc and Nath! Hurry!” Alix yelled as she took off.

“Chat Noir, get as many people out as quickly as you can, and call the police. We don’t know if the thief is armed or not, so look alive.”

“Always, my Lady. Be safe. You aren’t allowed to take a bullet if I’m not!” He squeezed her hand once before taking off for a back entrance. 

Ladybug headed straight for the source of the screams. If she remembered the Louvre correctly, there was a skylight over the most popular ballroom that she could use to spy down instead of running in blind. 

She found the skylight and peered down. People were kneeling with their hands up while someone yelled at them.

Even from her vantage point, she could tell it was an akuma. Her sigh of relief was inaudible from the roof.

There was an emergency door straight and to her right, and if she could get in there without triggering the alarms--

She never heard Mayura land behind her. She didn’t realize she was there at all until the Peacock’s boot connected with her back, sending her sprawling.

She was kneeling over Ladybug almost instantly, grasping for the earrings, and in a moment of panic Ladybug remembered a very old move she’d learned from a children’s book series. She planted her feet securely on Mayura’s ribcage, squished her legs down as far as they could go, and launched her a solid twenty feet in the air. Something fell when she went up, and blindly hoping it was the brooch or a clue about Hawkmoth, Ladybug dove for it.

It was a ring.

Her partner’s ring.

Mayura shrieked as she landed, trying to get back on her feet before Ladybug could get away again, but the girl was much younger and far more experienced. Plus, her Miraculous wasn’t broken.

Ladybug had never moved so swiftly in her life. Every step heralded a promise of revenge. 

Once the akuma was dealt with, Mayura would pay.

She called her Lucky Charm almost immediately, and it seemed Tikki wasn’t playing games this time. She gave her a full police riot shield. 

The akuma was a wealthy investor who was angry about not having won an auction item, and had vowed to turn everyone into art pieces for his private collection. Anyone who moved while he was watching was fair game for his statue beam.

Ladybug knew Mayura would be coming after her, and potentially Hawkmoth, too. She just had to hope to defeat this akuma before it came to that. Using the shield, Ladybug slowly advanced on the akuma until she could move around behind it. It had tried firing at the shield, but since it was already an inanimate object, nothing happened. The akuma was, of course, the man’s billfold. She just needed to grab it without being seen…

All of a sudden, there were heroes all around her, taking heavy fire from the akuma and giving her the perfect distraction.

“MAYURA IS HERE, SHE TOOK CHAT NOIR’S RING!” 

“WE KNOW, HE CAME TO GET US!” 

Everyone was here. Which meant that either Master Fu had told Chat Noir everyone’s identities and had him distribute the Miraculous, or Fu had distributed them himself.

“WHERE IS HE?”

“HE HAS THE DRAGON MIRACULOUS, I THINK HE’S FIGHTING MAYURA ON THE ROOF!” 

Everyone slowed down once the butterfly was captured and purified, and then the hunt began for the Peacock.

“We take her down tonight! No exceptions! Remember all of your training, and work as a team! Now move!” Her voice alone could have killed Mayura, if she’d been around to hear it. Everyone broke into groups and combed over the museum while Ladybug radioed the Dragon. 

“Chat?”

“I can’t find her, Ladybug. I’m sorry. She got away. She has my ring.”

Ladybug’s gut coiled. “She doesn’t have your ring.”

“What?”

“I do.”

She called everyone else. “Fan out, Mayura might still be in the area. Stay in pairs, and at the first sign of trouble, send out a distress beacon.”

Dragon Noir landed next to her from somewhere in the rafters, looking all over her for his ring.

“Did anyone else see you detransform?”

“No, just her.”

“Any cameras?”

“No, I checked as soon as she left.”

Ladybug took a deep breath and handed him his ring. “Go find somewhere to change. I need to go give the Dragon out.”

“Will do, my Lady. And… I’m sorry. About all of this.”

“It’s not your fault. They must’ve planned this together. We just need to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone else.”

It was crucial that they caught her before she got back to Hawkmoth. For all they knew, she’d already called him and told him everything.

They searched until the wee hours of the morning with no luck. Mayura had disappeared with Chat Noir’s identity, and now they had to deal with the aftermath.

Master Fu asked Chat Noir to overnight at his shop, just in case someone thought to come by his house looking for him. In reality, Fu still had his doubts about Gabriel being Hawkmoth and wanted to test it by keeping his son overnight.

Adrien skipped school the next day, and the day after that. Everyone assumed he was sick. They were too preoccupied with worrying over Chat Noir’s identity to make the connection. Marinette especially was looking run-down. Hanging out with Luka couldn’t even fix the problem, because she could pick up on his nervous energy, too. They were all just sitting there, waiting. Waiting for Mayura to expose Chat Noir to the world.

On the third day people finally started worrying a bit more about Adrien. They’d all called and texted, made sure he was alright, and he said he just had a bad head cold, but he’d sounded totally fine over the phone.

“Do you think his dad’s locking him up again?”

“Do you think he knows about…?” Nino trailed off, looking around before wiggling his hand at Alya. At least they had each other to talk to.

“No way! There’s been no news coverage, no nothing, not a peep! I don’t know what she’s waiting for, but it’s driving me insane!”

“Maybe she didn’t see?”

“No way, Nino.” Alya shook her head as class started. 

“Would someone mind bringing Adrien his schoolwork?” Mlle. Bustier asked the class. 

“I got it!” Nino raised his hand. 

Marinette sent a text to Luka, asking if he’d seen Adrien anywhere.

‘nope, why? mr sunshine skipping school?’

‘We don’t know, but no one’s seen him in three days. He keeps saying he has a head cold, but everyone thinks he’s lying.’

‘i’m sure he’s fine, mari, he knows how to take care of himself’

Marinette looked at her phone and sighed, slipping it into her bag. Tikki stared back at her with worried eyes.

When Nino came to drop off Adrien’s schoolwork, he was greeted with the usual stiffness from Nathalie. She outright denied him entry and told him that Adrien wasn’t taking visitors when he asked, though. 

“Is he really sick?”

“Yes. Adrien has the stomach flu. Now leave.” 

Nino groaned as the comms shut off and sent another text to Adrien.

‘tried to get into your place dude, theyre not letting me up!!! when did ur headcold turn into stomach flu?’

‘Last night, I think. Thanks for checking up on me!’

‘no problem bro, just come back soon’

‘I’ll try.’

Master Fu watched Adrien text curiously. When no word had come from his father about finding Adrien, Fu prepared for the worst. He’d told Adrien his suspicions and asked that, even if they weren’t true in the end, he at least humor the old man and stay in hiding until Mayura made her next move. 

Ladybug started patrol alone. She’d heard from Master Fu that unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn’t want Chat Noir out in the spotlight. Better to hide him now, while no one was looking.

Mayura saw Ladybug at the same time Ladybug spotted Mayura. She held her hands up in a surrendering gesture when she saw the look on the hero’s face.

“I want to talk, Ladybug.”

“I want to fight, Mayura. Unless you’re going to hand over your Miraculous and tell me who Hawkmoth is, we have nothing to talk about.”

“Not even Chat Noir’s identity?”

“Especially not his identity.”

“Ladybug, do you know why I haven’t told anyone Chat Noir’s identity yet?”

That got her to pause.

“Do you know how devastating it is to find out someone you view as a son is the hero you’ve been fighting all along?”

“You… you know Chat Noir?”

“Know him? I practically raised him. Realizing that the thing you want for him, more than anything in the world, is the one thing he’s been fighting all along? How do I tell Hawkmoth that? How do I tell him that the thing that was supposed to put his family back together is only breaking it even further? Even if we won and got your Miraculous, Chat Noir would just hate us more.”

Ladybug backed up a step, sensing that she was being led into a trap of some sort. “You’re not making sense.”

“Hawkmoth never told you what his plans were, did he?”

“No, and it doesn’t matter, because we’re never letting you win.”

Mayura sighed. This girl was certainly a hero, but this was getting ridiculous. She hadn’t made a single move to strike and yet the girl standing below her hadn’t stopped spinning that stupid toy for more than a second at a time.

“Listen. You cannot let Chat Noir know anything about this. It would destroy him. I want nothing more than to help him. This whole endeavor was… was to bring back someone very close to him. I am giving up my Miraculous. You may retrieve it from Francois-Dupont’s roof at midnight, tonight.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“You don’t. You just have to trust me. Oh, and before you go, tell me… is he safe?”

“What?”

“Is Chat Noir safe? He hasn’t come home since the day I found out who he was. Is he somewhere safe? Should I be worried?”

“He’s safe.”

“...Thank you.” Mayura nodded and took off, leaving Ladybug with a lot to think about while she finished her patrol. 

She had to tell him, right? Mayura had asked about his home life, so they had to live together at the very least? She wasn’t his mom, maybe a step-mom? A nanny? What was Chat’s background? Could his family afford a live-in-sitter?

But Mayura had said it would devastate Chat… how would she feel if she found out her parents were Hawkmoth and Mayura? That they’d been trying to steal the Miraculous to bring back someone close to her? She didn’t think she could ever forgive them for terrorizing Paris almost daily on her behalf, no matter the intentions. But what about Chaton?

Ladybug had landed on Fu’s roof without even thinking about it, and sent him a quick message to warn him that she was coming down and to make sure Chat was presentable.

She slipped into the window after about five minutes. Chat was drinking tea and waved to her when she entered. 

Now that she could see him, face-to-face, she wondered if she shouldn’t talk privately with the Master first. Just… to get his opinion.

“Have you found anything?” Master Fu asked, walking out from behind the partition with his own cup of tea.

“Yes… I actually wanted to talk to you in private about it.” 

“Chat Noir, if you would be so kind.” 

Chat got up and walked to the back room, plugging in some headphones he pulled off a table with a suspiciously familiar phone attached.

“What do you need, Ladybug?”

She relayed everything Mayura had said, watching as Fu’s usually composed face broke into millions of conflicting emotions through her retelling. When she was finally finished, he looked back at where Chat had disappeared to.

“He will take it better from me, but you should also be here for this. I think it may finally be time for you two to learn each other’s identities.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol this is the last chapter I posted pre-hiatus, I really just left people on this and peaced out for a few months. I'm mean.

Fu called Chat Noir into the room with a heavy heart. If what Ladybug had heard was all true, every single therapy session he’d given Adrien may have been for nothing.

Chat, that sweet idiot, still had a calm smile on his face when he sat down. It slowly morphed into a solemn line when he picked up on the tone in the room. 

“Is… is something wrong?”

“Mayura met with me today. She… she said some things that Master Fu and I… well…” Ladybug fell silent, looking over at Master Fu. 

“Chat Noir, Mayura told Ladybug that she has a rather… intimate connection with you. Almost like family.”

“What?” His entire face blanched. “Are we sure she’s not lying?”

It hurt, watching his eyes dart so frantically between the two of them. Master Fu took a deep breath, signalling Adrien to do the same before he gave himself an anxiety attack. Once he was calm again, Fu continued. 

“I believe she is telling the truth, and for that reason, you both need to learn each other’s identities. Mayura will not wait to tell Hawkmoth forever, and when he does, you’ll need each other more than ever. Before I continue, I want you two to decide if you’re ready to know.”

Ladybug put her hand on Chat’s knee. “It’s your decision, Minou. If you think Mayura’s lying, then there’s no reason to reveal ourselves.”

How could he say no to finally finding out who his Lady was? Sure, he knew she was seeing someone, but he’d already worked through all of that with Master Fu. He was a changed Chat, and for the better. Ladybug was his best friend, and he would give anything to know the girl behind the mask as well as he knew his Lady. And yet… saying yes would mean his worst fears would be realized. 

The air rattled his chest as he drew a breath in, squeezing his eyes shut before nodding to Master Fu and Ladybug. Whatever the outcome, he would work through it. 

“Claws in.”

“Spots off.”

He didn’t open his eyes until he heard her gasp and felt her nails dig almost painfully into his knee. 

“No, Master, there has to be a mistake, it couldn’t be them.”

“It’s too much of a coincidence. The book, never leaving the house…”

“Oh, Adrien.” 

He looked up to see Marinette. Sweet, perfect, caring Marinette, tears streaming down her face as she pulled him into a hug. 

“We’re going to fix this, Minou, I promise.” Her voice shook into his shoulder. 

Oh-so-carefully, he pulled her into a hug, trying to keep his own tears from falling. “It’s Nathalie and my father, isn’t it?”

Master Fu gave the tiniest of nods. His next words pushed Adrien over the edge, and then he was crying too. “They’re trying to find your mother.”

He choked on air while the room spun.

Of course they would. “Why? She’s gone! She’s been gone for years!”

Marinette felt Adrien’s arms flex, squeezing her even tighter against his ribcage. She squeezed back with equal force, hoping blindly that it would be enough to keep them both from falling apart. 

“Nathalie said she’s going to give up her Miraculous tonight and leave it on top of the school.”

Adrien drew in another shaky breath. “It’s got to be a trap.”

“But can we risk it if it’s not? What if your dad finds out and grabs it before we can? Then we’re back at square one.”

“Are you going to call everyone else in?”

“It’s too dangerous. They’re not ready.”

“They’ve been training for months, Mari, when are we going to have another chance like this? I can’t just waltz up to my father and demand his Miraculous.” Suddenly, realization dawned. “Oh god, they’re both going to go to prison for this.”

“Not if we play our cards right.” Master Fu motioned to the Miracle Box. 

“You wouldn’t!” Marinette gasped, twisting in Adrien’s arms. 

He gave a sad smile. “It’s the only way to protect them once this is over.”

“But--But!!” Marinette stuttered, trying to find a way out of this. There was nothing she could think of.

“We can discuss it later. You two need to figure out what you’re going to do about tonight.” Fu motioned to the clock. It was already 10:30 PM. 

“One of us should stay back, in case it is a trap. Do we call in Rena and Carapace? Guard Dog?” Adrien asked, looking between them both. 

Marinette’s eyes were getting teary again. “Adrien, if I stay behind, are you sure you can fight your father and Nathalie? No slip-ups?”

“Mari, if you go alone and they do manage to get your earrings, we’re all done for. You’re the only one that can undo the damage.”

“Both of you are going, and that’s that.” Master Fu glared at the teens. They were given matching Miraculous for a reason. “You should take everyone you can with you as well, in my opinion.”

“Master, what if Hawkmoth gets one of their Miraculous? He’d be even more powerful.”

“That’s a risk you and your friends will have to take, Marinette. Have some faith in them. I’ve watched you all train together. They may not be perfect, but they’re the best chance you have.”

He held the Miracle Box out to her. Adrien was still holding her in his arms, trying to cling to the one person he trusted more than anyone else. 

He felt her swallow, felt the way she squared her shoulders to get ready for battle. He also felt the gentle tremble throughout her entire body as she accepted the box, taking out each and every Miraculous there was. 

“Adrien?”

“Yes, My Lady?”

“Are you ready to meet all your partners?”

He half-laughed and nodded. “If this is the final showdown, we might as well clear the air.”

“No! You are to keep everyone else’s identity a secret.” Master Fu clapped his hands loudly, startling both of them. 

“Wh--why?” Marinette asked.

“You may reveal everyone else once this danger has passed, but if you do not take the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous tonight, everyone who knows will be in great danger.” Fu didn’t think it necessary to tell them that he’d already had to rewrite everyone’s memories once and that he wasn’t keen on doing it ever again.

“Okay…” Marinette murmured. “I guess… I’ll get going, then. Adrien? Whatever happens tonight… don’t tell anyone that you know. About any of this. Not about Mayura, not about Hawkmoth, and not about me. Nathalie didn’t want me to tell you in the first place, because she thought it would destroy you. She said that’s why she hasn’t told your father yet either.”

Fu waited until Marinette had left to deliver everything, then turned to his other charge. “Are you alright, Adrien?”

“No… but it won’t stop me from taking down my dad.” He sighed, looking out the window after her. 

“Good. You are still welcome to stay as long as you need.”

“Nathalie definitely told my father already. Otherwise he’d have destroyed half of Paris by now trying to find me.”

“Yes… which is all the more reason for you to be on your guard. I know you would never turn on Paris, but if your father outs you as his son, there will be questions.”

“I can handle a scandal. Besides, Marinette will back me up, and so will the rest of the heroes.”

“Marinette will, but are you sure about everyone else?”

“Yeah. I trust them. They might doubt me inwardly, but we’re a team. They all know that.”

Master Fu sighed. The optimism was encouraging, but very very misplaced. 

Marinette returned with empty hands and a concerned smile. “Ready to go?”

“Always, My Lady.” He grabbed her hand and she swung them over the city to the appointed meeting place. It was 11:30, and she needed to get everyone in on the plan and give them all fair warning about exactly what Adrien and Master Fu had been talking about in her absence. 

They landed in an empty alley that suddenly wasn’t-so-empty as all the heroes materialized from the shadows. 

“What’s the deal? It’s almost midnight!” Bunnix complained, yawning. 

“Yeah, is everything alright?”

“Is it Mayura again?”

“Hawkmoth?”

“Is this just another training exercise?”

All of the heroes collectively groaned. 

“No.” Ladybug’s voice shut them all up immediately. “Mayura wants to give up her Miraculous tonight at midnight, and we need all of you on guard around the city in case this is a trap.” 

The silence became deafening as everyone processed what she just said. Ladybug had expected a slew of questions… not this.

“I need you all to pair up in the groups I gave you before. You’ll be covering each other and us. Half of you will be roaming the city on patrol routes, making sure that this isn’t bait for an akuma. The other half will be with Chat and I, hidden within the school in case Mayura tries to trick us there.”

Wordlessly, everyone got into their positions. Half left along their patrol routes, half crawled into classroom windows and hunkered down in bushes, and Ladybug and Chat Noir took up their hiding spots to wait out Mayura. Everyone’s comms were open in case of emergency.

She showed up right at midnight, looking around before seating herself on the roof to wait. Ladybug let out a faint huff of frustration. She’d hoped Nathalie would leave the brooch on the roof and leave.

“I’m going in.” She whispered. “Everyone stay put.”

She swung onto the roof from behind Mayura, moving loud enough to make sure Mayura knew she was there. 

“You actually came.”

“As did you. Did… did Chat Noir come with, as well?”

“I asked him not to, seeing as you don’t want him knowing your identity.”

“Thank you…” Mayura stood up and looked around once more, nervously fiddling with her brooch.

“What are you going to do? Hawkmoth won’t let you come back without the brooch.”

“I’ve made… arrangements. I’ll be leaving Paris in the morning, before he wakes up.”

“Why hasn’t he come looking yet?”

“He doesn’t leave his room as is. It wasn’t difficult to claim that Chat Noir was sick, and that’s why he couldn’t go to his activities.”

“Well…”

“Yes…” Mayura looked around one last time as Ladybug held out her hand for the Miraculous. That’s when she gave herself away.

Ladybug watched her eyes linger just a second too long, watched her place her weight on her back foot, and she knew Hawkmoth was here. 

She ducked low, allowing Hawkmoth to pass over her and knock straight into Mayura. 

“HE’S HERE, EVERYONE TO THE SCHOOL!” 

Heroes jumped out everywhere, surrounding the villains as they got back up, prepared to fight.

Mayura flicked out her fan, narrowing her eyes as a familiar black-clad cat showed up with eyes of righteous fury.

“I see we’re both liars, Ladybug.”

“Nope, just you. Now hand over your Miraculous.”

“This?” Mayura reached up to her brooch, making a show of taking it off. She didn’t detransform. “Take it!” 

The Miraculous turned into blue smoke the second it hit Ladybug’s palm.

An illusion.

“VOLPINA!” Ladybug’s voice echoed over the comms loudly, filling the small space with her voice a hundred times over. All the heroes were in one place now. How convenient.

A gigantic cage appeared around everyone as the false heroine slinked out of the shadows, flute at the ready.

“You know, Ladybug, it wasn’t hard convincing Hawkmoth to break me out of jail once I told him about my little plan. Adrien Agreste, who would’ve thought?”

“What are you talking about?” Marinette feigned confusion. She was more concerned with how she’d found out Adrien was Chat Noir.

The fox laughed. “Oh, haven’t you heard?”

Something wasn’t right here, but Ladybug couldn’t figure out what. There’d been no broadcast, so she couldn’t have found out that way… How did Lila know?

How did she know?


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I was downright cruel, I didn't even feel anything because I'd already written the start of the next chapter but it wasn't finished, so like I knew what was going on (duh i'm the author) and just didn't think about how awful it was gonna be for the readers to sit on that cliffhanger.

Someone slapped the bars of the cage only to find out that somehow, they weren’t an illusion. 

“Chat Noir, the cage is real!” 

“Don’t use your cataclysm yet Chaton, it could be another trap.” Ladybug called back, not taking her eyes off Volpina. She was busy draping herself over the bars and smirking at everyone. 

“This was almost too easy, Ladybug! Are you sure you’re not losing your edge? Getting all the heroes into one convenient spot and trapping them… Now I just have to wait for Hawkmoth!” Lila’s voice morphed into Mayura’s as she spoke, and Volpina turned into a puff of orange smoke. Mayura stepped out of the shadows, only she wasn’t Mayura this time. She was a new fox akuma, and she had two flutes. 

“One for illusions, and one for the real thing. You were right about this being a trap, but you just couldn’t figure it out, could you?” She simpered. 

Ladybug looked around the cage at all of her friends and classmates. They were poised to fight, just like she was. 

“What do you want, Mayura?” She dead-eyed her. 

“The same thing as always, insect. Hand them over. All of them.” Mayura held her hand out just inside the bars. 

Ladybug launched herself, grabbing her hand and pulling Mayura straight into the bars. “Someone find the akuma and help me hold her!” Luka and Kagami came to the front as everyone latched onto Mayura’s arm. She couldn’t play a flute one-handed.

“Wait, find her brooch!” 

“It’s not on her.”

It became apparent why a second later when a blue feather landed, creating a gigantic nightmare of a peacock INSIDE the cage. 

Luka grabbed the akuma just as the peacock started pecking, allowing Mayura to take off before the transformation wore off and revealed her identity. That was well and good, but now they had to figure out who she was to defeat the senti-peacock. 

Or, they would’ve, if it hadn’t been destroyed seconds later. 

“Dammit!” 

“Chat Noir, are you alright?” Ladybug called over the sea of heroes. He’d been in back fending off the peacock while everyone else tried to keep Mayura’s hand inside the cage. 

“I’m fine My Lady, just a few pecks.” He worked his way through to proudly display the cut on his forehead where he’d been hit. The suit was already healing the damage, but there would probably still be a scratch when he detransformed. 

“Do we go after her?” Ryukko brandished her sabre, looking for all the world like she was about to make a peacock roast the second Ladybug gave her an answer. 

“She’ll be long gone by now, ‘Yukko.” Roi Singe put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. 

In a rare display of emotion, Kagami stamped her foot on the ground. 

“Sorry everyone. I messed up.” Ladybug sighed, rubbing her temples. They’d been so close! “Just… go get some sleep. We’ll have to try to lure them out another way.” 

“If we knew their identities we could use someone as bait…” Pegase muttered, clearly annoyed with the lack of data. 

Ladybug looked at Chat Noir in silent question, and he nodded. “Can everyone meet up tomorrow once your daily activities are over? I… might have an idea. And if it doesn’t work, we should all be training even harder anyways. I feel like we’re going to be having a big showdown very soon.”

The next day had everyone suited up and seated patiently on a secluded roof listening to Ladybug explain that they’d been tracking Hawkmoth and Mayura for a long time now and that she and the Guardian had theorized that the villains were somehow connected to Adrien. Everyone took that rather harshly, as expected. Adrien was their friend, and for him to be connected to something like this was unthinkable. The relief on their faces once Ladybug explained that they knew he wasn’t directly involved was palpable. 

Carapace’s grin was by far the largest. “There’s no way someone as cool as Adrien would be working with Hawkmoth.”

“Pardon me, Ladybug, but are you suggesting we use Adrien as bait?” Pegase asked, adjusting his sunglasses.

“I did ask him, and he’s volunteered to be bait. That’s why I called you all here. We don’t want to draw attention from anyone but Hawkmoth. Y’know, for Adrien’s safety. If he really is connected to Hawkmoth somehow, there would be a huge scandal.”

“What’s the plan, LB?” Guard Dog asked, arm looped protectively around the Bee holder. Watching Guard Dog train Sabrina with the Bee had been the highlight of Ladybug’s week when she’d finally handed it out. Stinger was very adept and always had Ladybug’s back.

“Well, we need to go somewhere that Hawkmoth can see us, but no one else can. We don’t have to do it today, either. We just need to come up with a plan.”

As Ladybug was finishing her sentence, Chat Noir slunk out of the alley and onto the rooftop. Everyone went silent.

“Chat!” Someone whisper-yelled. The smiles on everyone’s faces at seeing him went very far towards mending Adrien’s shattered heart.

“Is it safe for you to be out? Ladybug told us you weren’t going to come out for anything but akumas!”

He shot Ladybug a grin and shrugged. “Have any of you ever tried herding a cat?”

“You heard about the Adrien plan? I can’t believe he’s actually going to let us use him as bait!”

“Oh, I’d believe it.” Chat responded, sharing a look with LB. 

“Got any ideas for where to contact Hawkmoth that’s private enough that Adrien wouldn’t be exposed to the public?”

Chat tapped his chin, looking around. He hadn’t been home in almost a week, so he still wasn’t sure where his father’s lair was. He figured it had to be somewhere connected to his study, since he rarely left. 

“We might need to do a little recon before we can--” Chat started.

“-CHAT!!!” Ladybug hissed, grabbing his arm and shaking him suddenly.

“What?!” 

Everyone drew their weapons, instantly forming a circle around the two heroes. 

Ladybug looked around at everyone, then at her yoyo. “Hhhhhh, hang on, I’m going to text you this. It’s between us only, got it?”

“Of course.” Chat nodded, looking around the circle at everyone. He didn’t think anyone would read over his shoulder, but he couldn’t be too safe. 

‘Are you cool with leaving the ring at the Guardian’s and going home??’

‘W H A T’

‘Hear me out!! We know the Rabbit can move through time and rewrite memories, so what if you pretend that your memory was wiped???’

‘...I’m not really a fan of leaving Plagg behind?? Also?? This is insane????’

‘Ugh come on, it gives you a chance to get back in the house and collect intel!’

‘And if my father quarantines me or uses me as bait to get you guys to come rescue me??’

‘Uhhhhh there’s like 16 of us and 2 of them. Also Mayura’s getting destroyed by the Peacock, so like, really we just gotta fight HM.’

‘M’lady. No.’

‘Party pooper. :p’

‘:p’

‘Wait what if you used the Snake and just kept second-chancing’

‘Still don’t like it’

‘You’d only have to do it once and you could keep the ring on you, too’

‘And viperion??? Have u asked him???’

‘Not yet??? Duh???? If he says yes tho would you do it?’

‘UUUUUUUGH F I N E. u owe me big time if this goes south.’

‘I owe you big time anyways’

Chat’s baton and Ladybug’s yoyo clicked shut at the same time. She was beaming at him. The sight made his heart hurt a little, but it was well worth it. Now, to figure out what he was going to say to this father…

“Rena, Viperion, we’re going to need both your miraculous for the first part of this plan. Is that alright with you?”

“Definitely, LB!”

“Sure.” 

“Alright, I’ll meet you both at your usual spots. Once part one is over, I’ll return your miraculous and call everyone back to let you know what our next steps are.”

“Is Adrien going to be alright? He’s my classmate, you know.” Alya rubbed her arm nervously as she handed the Fox necklace to Ladybug. “His family life isn’t the greatest, either…”

“I’ve seen your class. He has a good support system. His best friend is Carapace, after all.” A soft laugh escaped Ladybug’s lips. “You’re a good friend, Alya Cesaire. Your entire class… they’re all good people.” 

Alya smiled, flushing before her eyes turned steely. “You’d better take good care of him, or I’ll send Carapace after you AND Chat Noir!” 

The girls laughed and exchanged a brief hug before Ladybug swung off to retrieve her boyfriend’s Miraculous. 

He was whispering something to Sass when she landed, but promptly shut up and held out the Miraculous. He seemed… pained.

“Is he going to be alright? Last time…” Luka shuddered, thinking back to what Ladybug had told him after his first time as Viperion. How Adrien had tried to rescue her thousands of times and continued to fail.

“He’ll be alright. I promise, Luka. And if we need you to wield it again, I’ll come get you right away.” It felt weird, to be taking back her boyfriend’s Miraculous to give to Adrien again. His failures as Aspik still kept her up some nights. How many times they’d failed. Realizing that they’d only succeeded with Chat Noir. She swallowed and shook her head again, clearing the thoughts away before they took a darker turn. “Yeah. He’ll be fine.”

Luka placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and quirked his brow, just like he always did when she was Marinette. “Are YOU alright, Ladybug? You seem stressed.”

She gave him a strained smile and nodded. “I’ll be better once this is all over.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh leave a comment/kudos if you enjoyed I guess. And if you didn't enjoy. I actually love reading hate comments, they're peak comedy.

Marinette and Adrien swung down into Master Fu’s apartment to discuss the plan one more time.

“I’ll be watching you the entire time and maintaining the illusion. If anything goes bad, you flash the signal. Especially if you use Second Chance. We’re not repeating Aspik.”

“I know, I know! I was just so excited you chose me!”

“Excited after twenty-three THOUSAND times?”

“...point taken. Also, are you sure you can maintain the illusion around me?”

“We’re gonna practice before you go in for real. I need to get a feel for how you move around so you don’t end up clipping through and poofing yourself.”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Oh, we’re working out the plan for tomorrow. Can we practice here? I’m going to use the Fox to Mirage Adrien around… Adrien. Uh. Civilian Adrien around hero Adrien. So, Adrien’s going to use the Snake to get into the mansion and try to take the Peacock and Moth before they can stop him. And I figured it would be kinda obvious if Aspik showed up instead of Adrien, so to buy him some time I’m going to be keeping an Adrien illusion around him for as long as I can. Hopefully he can just run in and out without Gabriel and Nathalie knowing anything ever happened. And if not, we bail and regroup using Second Chance.”

Adrien missed the familiar click of his Chat Noir boots as he approached the front gate. He missed being able to fiddle with his ring even more. If he touched it, the mirage would drop (They’d decided against leaving the Miraculous at Fu’s). But it did mean that Plagg was free to move about as he pleased. That particular kwami was already flying high and out of sight, waiting for the cue to come pass through the safe and open it from the inside. Plagg could pass through anything, but the Miraculous couldn’t. 

His fingers danced gently over the keys, the code still as familiar as ever. Luckily his father hadn’t had the foresight to change it. Or else they’d planned on his return.

The gate swung open.

He took a deep breath.

Adrien Agreste passed over the threshold. Casually. Calmly. Not befitting someone who’d been ‘missing’ for several days.

Movement in the window caught his attention. Nathalie and his father were home. Of course. But they were in the study, where he knew the safe was. He took a slow breath to steady himself. 

A minor setback. That’s all. He could work around this.

The door clicked closed behind him as he slowly moved up to his room. He could wait this out. For sure.

Plagg passed through the window just as Aspik closed the door, so they both got to watch as the emergency bars clapped over the windows.

“Second Chance.”

“Wait.”

Ladybug stopped just in front of Master Fu’s door.

“How many times?”

“Just one so far. My room’s a no-go, the door’s rigged to put the emergency bars down and lock me in.”

“Why were you in your room?”

“Nathalie and my father are in the study. Can you make another mirage to lure them out, or would that be too on-the-nose?”

“It’s dangerous, especially since we can’t talk without dropping your mirage.”

“Alright, we’ll try again. By the way, M’lady, you did really well with the change in plans.”

“What, when you went to your room instead of the study?”

“Yeah. The mirage worked perfectly.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

Rounds 2 and 3 went about the same, with some home security device going off and trapping him in whatever room he happened to enter. The 4th time he went to his Father’s bedroom, hoping to find the Butterfly. No luck there, but nothing else happened. As he opened the door to leave, he came face-to-face with the two people he’d been trying to avoid.

“Adrien.”

“Father. Nathalie.”

They stared at each other for half a beat in dead silence. Adrien was just about to reach for his bracelet when his father turned around and beckoned him to follow with his hand.

“I’m sure you’ve already figured out my plans, but I think I have something that will… sway you.”

Slowly, discreetly, Adrien allowed Nathalie to pass before him before placing his hands behind his back and grabbing his wrist. The second something went wrong, he’d be all over his Miraculous.

The lair was almost exactly what he expected. The basement… wasn’t.

“What is this?!” His voice had a bite, making his father flinch. At least Gabriel was finally showing some emotion.

“A safehaven. Please, Adrien. It’s only a little further.”

“I’m not taking another step until you explain,  _ Father _ .”

Gabriel blanched at the tone of his son’s voice. To think, he’d driven his own son to such depths of loathing… Surely he’d be forgiven after Adrien saw his mother, right? Saw everything he’d done in the name of saving her?

“Your mother didn’t disappear. She’s been here, the entire time. I’ve been keeping her alive and searching for a way to cure her. Please.”

“...second chance.”

“Wh-”

“STOP.”

Fu and Ladybug froze.

“How many?” Came his partner’s hesitant voice.

“This is five. My mother’s in the basement.”

“WHAT?!”

“She’s. He’s. He’s keeping her in the basement. In a coffin. I didn’t get close. I didn’t want to. What should…?”

“What do you want to do, Chaton?”

“I think they’re both wearing the Miraculous. I… we need to get those first. Then we… send in the police.”

“You’re going to turn them in?”

“How can I not? Marinette, they’re terrorists! My family is…”

He choked, and then her arms were around him, holding him together. “It’s ok. It’s ok. You have family. Maybe… maybe not blood, but I know my parents would…”

“No, no, Marinette, no, you don’t have to do that, you and Luka, and I’d just-”

“Shut it. You’re my partner. You’re like a brother to me. And I know my parents adore you, and they’d love to have you around.”

“Talk later, you two have a mission to carry out.” Master Fu interjected, laying a calm hand on both the heroes’ shoulders.

“Thank you, Master.” Adrien turned to give him a quick hug before nodding to Marinette and heading out again. This time, he’d be prepared. There was nothing else that could surprise him.

Adrien strolled through the front doors and straight into the study, surprising both Nathalie and Gabriel. Before either could speak he held up a hand and slapped it down onto his arm, shattering the illusion.

“The miraculous. Now. I already know about the lair and the basement.”

“Adrien, be reasonable. This is all for your moth-”

“My MOTHER wouldn’t have wanted you to turn into a magical terrorist, and she certainly wouldn’t have wanted you to give Nathalie her broken Miraculous! That’s right, I figured that out too, all on my own. That trip to Tibet you talked about when I was little? All of it. Mom used the Peacock and that’s why she was sick all the time, and now you’re doing the same thing to Nathalie. And even worse, you know! And you’re letting him use you!”

“Adrien-”

“NO, Father. It ends now. Hand them over, or I’ll keep going. I’ve already mapped out the entire house. The traps, the safe, the window into your lair, everything. And I’ll keep getting stronger, faster, and harder to catch. You give it to me now, or I make it worse.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “Your choice.”

“Are you done?”

“With this bullshit? Yes. I’m done fighting your shitty akumas and dying six times over protecting the most important person I know. I’m done getting bone-breaking injuries and getting cataclysmed -by you, might I add- and I’m especially done with fighting you. I’m tired, dad. I want this to be over. And I know, I know what you’re going to say already. You did this for mom. All of this for mom. It’s always for mom. So, and I’m not supposed to be telling you this, the Guardian has already agreed to fix the Peacock and look into saving Mom. And he’s our best shot, because if you’d ever gotten close enough to make the wish, you would’ve killed someone else in her place. Probably me. So give it a rest.” 

“Th-the wish? It would’ve?” Nathalie turned to look at Gabriel, eyes wide. Her hands were already clutched over the broken brooch.

Aspik blinked, staring between the two of them. “You didn’t know?”

Nathalie carefully unclipped her brooch, backing away from both boys. “Gabriel, tell me you didn’t know. Tell me you weren’t going to sacrifice us to bring her back.”

Gabriel’s gaze hardened as he stared his son down, hands flexing.

“You were going to trade Nathalie for Mom. Oh my kwami you were going to trade her! Father, SHE RAISED ME! SHE’S AS MUCH A MOTHER TO ME AS MOM WAS BEFORE YOU SENT HER INTO A MAGICAL COMA! WHAT WERE YOU EVEN DOING WITH THE MIRACULOUS IN THE FIRST PLACE?!”

Adrien’s eyes started to tear and he knew he’d have to act fast if he wanted any chance of this being the last loop. “Nathalie, get out of here. Leave the brooch somewhere, Ladybug will find it. Go to a doctor. We’ll get the Guardian to take care of you, too.”

“I’m not leaving you, Adrien. Duusu, spread my feathers.”

“No! You’re just going to make it worse! Leave, now, while you still can. Father, hand over the Butterfly. You’re outmatched.”

“By a child who can’t use his full powers and a woman who’s so sick she can barely maintain her transformation for more than ten minutes? Adrien, clearly you know better than that. Nooroo, dark wi-!”

Her boot landed square in his chest, knocking him to the floor and cutting off his transformation. He didn’t even have a chance to get up before Mayura ripped the brooch from under his tie and launched herself out of the window. Aspik spared his father a withering glare before following her. His father didn’t need to know the police would be on their way soon.

“Where’s Ladybug?”

“Follow me.”

“He was going to- Adrien, you have to understand, I wanted to bring your mother back, I never meant to-”

“It’s fine, Nathalie. We’ll talk later. Plagg, where’s Marinette?”

“Heading this way, and fast! Keep going straight.” The kwami glared at Mayura, but held his tongue. If she tried to lay a feather on him he’d loose a Cataclysm the size of France.

Vixen, as Marinette had chosen to style herself for her brief time as the fox, landed on a roof right in front of Aspik and Mayura and brandished her flute like Lady Noir’s baton.

“Duusu, fall my feathers.”

Nathalie gasped for breath and held out both Miraculous with a shaky hand as Aspik helped keep her up. Vixen glanced at him for confirmation before retrieving the Miraculous.

“Is she going to be ok?” Duusu chirped, flitting between her old and new holders.

“We’ll take care of her. And you.” Vixen promised.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayy we revealing identities finally

Every television in France sounded out with Nadja Chamack’s latest scoop. “Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Police are currently closing in on the Agreste Mansion thanks to a tip from Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves! Word has it that the famous designer Gabriel Agreste is the man behind the mask that’s been terrorizing Paris. That’s right, listeners! Gabriel Agreste, head of the wildly successful fashion company Gabriel, is none other than Hawkmoth. Ladybug told reporters that they’d already captured the miraculous of the butterfly and peacock, but refused to elaborate on who had been Mayura. Apparently the feathery accomplice had switched sides during their final battle and aided in the take-down of Hawkmoth.” 

Nadja paused, placing a hand over her earpiece as some… NEW information came in.

“Ladies and gentlemen I have just received word that Emilie Agreste, Gabriel’s missing wife, was spotted in a life-sustaining glass coffin in the basement of the Agreste Mansion! Paramedics are already on their way.”

“Turn it off. Please.” Adrien whispered, arms crossed over his legs in a ball. Sabine gave a worried glance to her husband before silencing the broadcast.

Marinette kept a firm arm around his shoulders, anchoring him the only way she knew how. “Adrien? Everyone’s blowing up the group chat. They want to know if--”

“If I was working with him? Of c--”

“If you’re alright. They know you. They know you’d never do something like that.”

Adrien could feel the first tear drip down his cheek and he knew it was going to be a very long night. The first of many.

“Want me to tell them you’re safe here?”

“S-sure. Thanks, Mari.”

“Of course. Maman, Papa, can I take Adrien upstairs so he can get some sleep? I’m letting him have my bed tonight, and I’ll stay on my couch.”

“He’s welcome here as long as he needs.” Tom nodded.

“You’re sure you’re ready to face everyone?” Ladybug balanced on the balls of her feet on the edge of the roof, looking at all the assembled heroes standing around at the spot she’d requested they meet at. Chat Noir scuffed the ground with his boot, staring at nothing in particular.

“They deserve to know.”

“Only if you’re ready for them to.”

“I mean, it’s now or never. Besides, this might be the last time we all see each other with our miraculous.”

“Oh shut up, don’t talk like that! I know for a fact that you and Plagg are inseparable. I don’t think he’d let you give him up even if you tried.”

That got a small laugh out of her partner and she smiled. Small victories. “I bet he’d cataclysm your entire Ladybug memorabilia collection for even suggesting it.”

“No! Not my figurines!” He laughed, a real laugh this time as he dramatically draped his hand over his eyes. After a second he got more solemn again, but the faint outline of a smile stayed on his face. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

Every hero let out some form of shriek, cry, or shout when they saw the pair drop down. 

“You did it!”

“What happened?!”

“Are you alright?”

“Guys, guys, please!” Ladybug laughed, enveloping a few of the heroes in a big hug. “We’re fine. Well, as fine as we can be.”

“I can’t believe it was really him. How’s Adrien taking it?”

“He’s… he’s pretty shaken up about it, but I think he’s glad it’s over.” Ladybug glanced over at Chat with a small smile. 

“So, Hawkmoth’s defeated, Mayura’s done… what now?” Carapace glanced at Rena Rouge with clearly visible apprehension. They’d all been fighting together long enough that the idea of losing their Miraculous was… practically unthinkable. But they knew without a supervillain to fight there was no need for it.

Ladybug took a deep breath and put on her warmest smile. “We wanted to thank you all. Every single one of you has saved us multiple times over, and we never would’ve made it to today without you. And… we thought… y’know… since there’s no danger anymore… there’s no need for secret identities.”

“No way.” Roi Singe’s eyes went wide, and a split second later he was already calling off his transformation. All the other heroes followed suit, yelling in delight as they recognized each other.

Finally, it was down to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“I’ll go first. After all, you’re the star here, m’lady.” Chat gave her the smile he’d given her all those months before, full of admiration and love. 

“Are you sure? I can go first, if you want a little more time.” Ladybug put a hand on his arm.

Alya cleared her throat, drawing their attention. “Not to break up this moment, but, um… where are Marinette and Adrien?”

“Yeah, the rest of us are all here. What, did you not think Dupain-Cheng would make a good hero or something? That I MIGHT be able to understand, she’s pretty busy after all.” Chloe, of all people, piped up.

Chat bit back a laugh and looked at his partner. The girl who’d brought him through all of this and been there for him right from the start, even if he didn’t know it. Barring the, uh, gum incident, of course.

“Well, the thing is… Plagg, claws in.” 

Green light washed over the assembled heroes, leaving a very tired looking boy in Chat Noir’s place.

“Oh, Adrien!” Chloe teared up immediately, throwing her arms around him. Everyone else was quick to follow, promising their support and asking the obvious questions about his father and Nathalie. After he managed to sate their curiosity and they’d reassured him that they were on his side no matter what, everyone’s eyes were on Ladybug.

She flushed bright red and Adrien took her hand. “Hey. It’s alright. You already know these people love you. There’s no need to get nervous. You’re my best friend, LB. It’s time everyone else knows just how amazing you are.”

She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Chat. You’re my best friend, too.” 

She squeezed his palm once before dropping it.

“Tikki… spots off.” 

Screams. So many screams. Marinette immediately flicked her eyes open, looking around in a panic for any sign of danger. So preoccupied, she was, that she didn’t see Alya come barrelling into her and crushing her in a hug so tight she worried she might break a rib. 

“Oh my kwami HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME THIS?!” She shrieked, jumping up and down as everyone else rapidly joined the hug, shouting questions, thanks, and encouragement. Luka was rooted to the spot, dumbstruck. He’d had his suspicions, but seeing them confirmed was something else entirely.

“Marinette.” 

His whisper stopped the slew, temporarily, as everyone slowly backed off so Luka could see his girlfriend. His amazing, wonderful, talented, superheroine girlfriend.

The first step was wobbly, like he still couldn’t believe it. Then he was rushing to her, picking her up and twirling her in circles as he laughed, finally setting her down for a kiss.

Alya may have wolf-whistled.

Chloe may have snapped a picture. If it showed up in a wedding slideshow a few years down the road, she would certainly deny it.

“You’re amazing.”

“Both of you are incredible.”

“My best friend has been a superhero this whole time.”

“Do we have to give our Miraculous back?”

“I’m gonna miss you too much!!” 

Adrien laughed, shaking his head. “Marinette, the Guardian, and I have all talked it over, and we think taking away the Miraculous would be one of the dumbest decisions ever. Every single one of you has proven you’re worthy of holding them, and if anything else ever happened and we were needed, there’s no other people we’d want at our side. Maybe we won’t be fighting Hawkmoth any more, but I know for a fact that my most excellent partner has a training regimen to keep us all in shape until we are needed again.”

“Uuuugh, more training?!” Kim whined. Alix punched him in the shoulder and they laughed.

“Nothing as strenuous as these last few weeks. Just enough to keep you all on your toes. I was thinking, maybe, once a week?” Marinette glanced between all her chosen heroes.

“I think that’s a great idea.” Luka smiled from behind her, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

“You have to say that, you’re her boyfriend.” Marc teased before giving Mari a thumbs-up. “But I think it’s a pretty good idea, too.”


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES I GOT THE NUMBER RIGHT SUCK IT 25 CHAPTERS WOOOOOOO

And so, Paris entered their new not-normal. Finally safe from the threat of Hawkmoth, people returned to their lives free of worry about whether they could safely get angry and sad. The heroes made good on their weekly training sessions, appearing randomly across Paris and getting into heated fights with each other. At some point, someone mentioned reinstating patrols and looking out for petty criminals, to the overwhelming support of the other heroes. Paris had never been safer.

Adrien was unofficially adopted into the Dupain-Cheng family while Master Fu worked on finding a cure for his mother. Adrien had already accepted she was gone long before, so he wasn’t holding his breath. He was more than happy to help in the warm, inviting bakery downstairs and continue going to school. Marinette, through some fancy document-work orchestrated by Adrien, was given the role of head designer for Gabriel. More than a few underlings were, understandably, pissed that a 14-year-old was handed their dream job. They were a little less pissed when the memo sent out by Adrien was amended to explain that she only held the title for now because she was too young to run a giant company like this. Nathalie was the one who actually took over the business.

After a few years Kitty Section had managed to make a pretty big name for themselves and were offered the chance to go on tour with Jagged as his opening band, so Marinette bid Luka a tearful goodbye with the promise that they’d video chat often while he was away. Adrien ended up coming along as their pianist, which was all the more devastating for her. Her boyfriend and her partner, all the way across the ocean.

The bakery was awfully quiet, mused Marinette. A fresh batch of dough rolled underneath her palms. It was her attempt to distract herself from the emptiness. Adrien had chosen to stay with her and her family while Nathalie took over the mansion. Of course, Adrien held the deed to the house and was allowed in whenever he wanted, and hosted numerous parties for his friends (after approval from Nathalie, of course). The Gorilla moved between the houses, now that the press had died down and Adrien didn’t need constant paparazzi guarding.

Marinette pushed out another sigh, glancing at the clock. Their flight would be landing in about 6 hours, and everyone had promised to call. They’d all tried to convince her to come with as the head of their costume crew, but she still wasn’t ready to leave Paris without its Ladybug. And she couldn’t just ask Max for his Miraculous back or try to make him come along just to ferry people back and forth. He was in university now, he needed to work on getting his degrees. Multiple.

The day passed slowly, and after the 7 hour mark she was ready to give up on the video chat. She pushed herself away from her desk towards her sewing machine. The tour was ending back in Paris with a massive homecoming ball hosted at Le Grand Paris. Leave it to Chloe to give her ‘Adrikins’ the most lavish return ever.

She ran the silky pink fabric through her fingers, trying to decide what piece she would work on today when a bright light washed over her room. In an instant, she was flipping around with an improvised weapon. 

“Marinette!” Kitty Section poured out of Pegase’s portal and wrapped her in a hug, laughing and promising there was no trouble in America.

“I thought you guys were going to video chat me!” She fake-pouted through her smile.

“Well, we MAY have decided to surprise you with some help from Max. Maybe.” Luka winked, watching her face go bright red.

She burst into laughter and pulled everyone in for another hug. “How’s New York so far?”

“It’s so beautiful! There’s lights everywhere!!” Rose squealed, bouncing Marinette and Juleka up and down. She’d gotten much stronger.

“It’s pretty busy…”

“It’s amazing Marinette, you’d love it! There are shops everywhere, and everyone’s wearing the craziest outfits!” 

“You’re sure you don’t want to come with us?”

She sighed and nodded her head again. “I need to work on my designs. University won’t wait if I go on tour.”

“Come on Mari. One day. We’ll take you to see the sights, Jagged will never know. If anyone asks just say a lot of people tell you that you look like that designer girl.” Luka pulled her into his side as she giggled.

“Pleeeeease?”

“I promise I’ll have you home before your parents wake up.” Max raised his hand. “Scouts honor.”

“You’re not a scout.” Ivan teased.

Juleka was the only one that noticed the glint in Marinette’s eye that meant she was coming up with a plan. “Maybe, and this is a BIG maybe…”

“Yeah?”

“What if all the heroes went and trained for a night? And then the whole class could go exploring? Is that alright, Max?”

“Aw man, she figured it out already!”

“That’s our Marinette, always a step ahead.”

Max chuckled and held out his hand. “We may have already gotten everyone over there and were planning to surprise-attack you. Y’know, turn the tables a little bit.”

“Aww, you guys!” Tears pricked up in the corners of her eyes as she laughed, throwing her arms around Max. “Thank you. For everything. You’re the best friends I could ever ask for.”

“Now let’s go! Hey, lover boy, no going easy on her since she’s your girlfriend, got it?” Ivan poked his finger into Luka’s ribs, causing the older boy to laugh.

“If I went easy on her she’d beat me to a pulp.”

“Would not!” Marinette defended herself.

“Would so! You fight dirty, m’lady.” Adrien teased and ruffled her hair.

“Bullies, all of you! Mutiny! Tikki, spots on!” 


End file.
